Thumbelina II: Beyond the Vale
by NeitherSparky
Summary: A sequel to Don Bluth's 1994 film Thumbelina. When all the Fairies in the Vale are kidnapped by evil Fey, it is up to Thumbelina and Cornelius to rescue them. Finished.
1. Chapter One

**Thumbelina II:  
Beyond the Vale**  
A _Don Bluth's Thumbelina_ fanfic  
by  
C. "Sparky" Read

_Two quick notes: One, please please please correct me if I misuse any Spanish or French in this story, I primarily use Babelfish for translations which means I will get stuff wrong from time to time. Two: I finally designed what Cecil looks like (check my site or my DA account, same name as here, if you want to see), and he no longer has a backpack. I went back and tried to rewrite all mentions of Cecil having a backpack, but if I missed anything please let me know! -Sparky_

_Chapter One_

It was the first day of Summer.

Queen Tabitha fanned herself with a dried rose petal and made impatient clicking noises with her tongue, causing her husband to lean toward her and whisper, "I do hate that noise you make, dear. It reminds me of blackberry brambles rattling in the wind."

Tabitha exhaled sharply and dropped her hands to her knees. "Colbert," she replied coolly, "He is late again. And, for that matter, so is _she_."

King Colbert nodded indulgently, gazing out over the Palace courtroom, which was quickly filling to capacity with the Royal Subjects. "Yes," he mused. "The boy I am not surprised at. But the Princess..."

"Cornelius is not a boy any longer, Colbert. He is a married man now. And he should _not_ be missing _any_ more Solstice Invocations! It's...It's..." The Queen floundered for a suitable adjective to describe her son's un-Princely behavior and at length gave up. "He must have convinced poor Thumbelina to go for a flight over the fields on that frightful bee..."

"Now, now, Tabitha." It was Colbert's mantra. "Everything will be fine. Thumbelina and Cornelius know better than to miss the Invocation. The entire Vale is present." He indicated the jammed Courtroom with a grand sweep of one arm. "I'm sure they'll both come flying in at any moment."

"Hm," replied the Queen, entirely unconvinced.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Look, I just don't see what the big deal is."

"You want to know what the big deal is?" Thumbelina whirled around to face Cornelius, a great diamond, trailing a chain, gripped in her hand. "This." She waved the diamond as if it were necessary to draw attention to such a thing. "This is a big – no, a _very_ big – a way _too_ big deal!"

Cornelius pulled a face. "What?" he asked, hitching up his shoulders. "You don't like my mother's diamond necklace?"

Thumbelina lowered the diamond, sighing loudly. "Well...no, I don't," she said, and Cornelius blinked, puzzled.

"I don't understand," said the Prince slowly. "Is it...is it because it's my mother's? Look," he went on hastily as Thumbelina tried to interrupt, "it's been in the family for generations, it's a tradition, you know – Would you prefer a new one?" At this his tone changed slightly as he began to feel a bit insulted. "I could go dig one up for you."

"_No_, Cornelius." Thumbelina tried to keep her voice even. "I – " She covered her face with her hands momentarily. "It's just...it's just that I think it's too...too..."

"Well?" prompted Cornelius impatiently.

Thumbelina looked up abruptly. "It's _huge!_" When the Prince went back to looking mystified, she rushed on, "I just think it's too big...and flashy...for me. You see?" He didn't see. She exhaled. "Cor," she said gently, using the nickname even the Prince's own parents wouldn't utter despite his years of insistence, "it's just not _me_."

But Cornelius wasn't placated. "What's not 'you'?" he demanded, a flush creeping into his face. "Upholding my family's traditions? Being a Fairy Princess?" he demanded as Thumbelina flushed as well. "Lina," he pressed, using her own nickname, "you are _royalty_ now. The people expect you to...dress the part."

Thumbelina drew herself up indignantly, suddenly ashamed of the new lavender silk gown she was wearing especially for the Invocation. "I am not some tailor's dressform to be dolled up!" she shot back, her blue eyes flashing. "I am not accustomed to parading about dripping with jewels and looking down my nose at everyone I meet!"

"But that's what you're _supposed_ to do!" the Prince cried in frustration, hands in the air.

Several paces away from the squabbling Fairies, a burly bumblebee droned uneasily. Buzzby never liked to hear his master raise his voice; it put his dander up, and hearing Thumbelina speak harshly wasn't helping any. He shuttled about nervously on the sandy ground, looking yearningly over his shoulder at the Palace, wishing his master and his master's mate would stop shouting at each other and get on his back so they could go to the nice, cool Courtroom where every Fairy in the Vale had gathered. Buzzby knew they would all be there from experience: whenever every one of the purple banners was raised like that it meant for everyone to meet inside. It didn't matter what the Prince and Princess were doing, the point was that they were supposed to be in there and yet they were not and that was making Buzzby very uneasy.

Just as Buzzby scuttled forward to give Cornelius an urgent prod with his antennae Thumbelina threw back her arm and hurled the diamond at the Prince's chest. Cornelius stumbled backward in alarm, therefore tripping over Buzzby and landing quite ungraciously in a heap on the other side of the bumblebee, clutching the diamond in surprise.

Thumbelina stood over him, hands on hips. "Don't tell me what I'm supposed to do!" she blurted angrily, although she fought back tears. "And don't tell me who I'm supposed to be!" And with that she stormed off into the flowers towards the Palace.

Cornelius was so appalled he lay there on his back blinking stupidly at the sky for a few moments before rolling to his feet. "Thumbelina!" he called, jogging after her. He reached the Princess, who had frozen in her tracks, staring at the Palace. "Thumbeli – " he started to say her name again, but then he saw it, too.

A swarm of creatures was attacking the Palace, crashing through the windows to enter. Thumbelina couldn't tell what they were – they darted through the air like grey blurs. "Oh Cornelius, what _are_ they?" she gasped in horror.

"I don't know – but I'll find out. Buzzby, let's go!" Cor cried, stuffing the diamond necklace inside his tunic and leaping on the bumble's back. This call to action suited the bee very well and he took off immediately towards the Palace.

Thumbelina fluttered after them. "Wait!" she shouted, frightened. "Cornelius!"

But her husband did not hear. Buzzby sped towards the Palace just as the creatures began streaming back out, each of them holding one or two struggling Fairies. The Prince saw now that they were Kobolds, a member of the Dark Fey (Cor, like all Fairies, had learned to recognize all of the Faerie-Kin by use of paintings; the Fairies in the Vale had no real contact with any other Fey, whether they be Light, Dark, or Neutral). The Kobolds were big, more than twice the size of Fairies, and were entirely grey from their long, pointed faces to their long, pointed feet. Even their clothes were the same color, giving them the appearance of being carved out of solid rock. They were evidently more than a match even for the Royal Guard, who were among the first to be carried away and out of sight. The attack had been a total surprise.

A big Kobold whizzed by, and Cornelius spun around in horror as he spotted his own mother dangling from its stony claws.

"Cornelius! Cornelius!" she cried, frightened, reaching out to him. And then they vanished in the swarm, which was now retreating as swiftly as it had arrived.

The sight goaded Cor to fury, and he drew his sword as he spurred Buzzby on after the pair. But it was no good – the swarm was fast approaching the horizon, and the bumblebee could not hope to overtake them. Nonetheless, Cornelius continued to give chase.

Suddenly a Kobold – evidently a straggler - dropped upon the Prince and his mount from above and with a well-placed kick sent Buzzby crashing to earth. Cor remained in the air and whirled in space, his wings trailing gold, as he slashed out at his attacker. But the Kobold was alarmingly swift and, dodging, seized Cor by the swordarm and in a second had him pinned and was zooming along after the others with his prisoner.

Cor had one frantic thought. "Thumbelina! Thumbelina!" he screamed, looking wildly about as the ground moved under him in a blur; the Kobold was holding him at an awkward angle. But if his Princess was in the clutches of one of the silent Dark Fey it would be unlikely he could spot her. Until...

"Cornelius!"

Cor bent in half to see Buzzby, with Thumbelina on his back, dogging his captor's flight.

"Thumbelina, no!" Why couldn't she just hide somewhere until the danger had passed?

"Faster, boy," Thumbelina hissed to her mount, who was already at top speed. It wouldn't be fast enough. The Kobolds moved like the wind. But Buzzby hummed angrily and flew on.

Cor's Kobold looked round at Thumbelina; his face contorted in anger before he looked again after his retreating fellows. He was at the rear of the swarm, and no one else was likely to spot Thumbelina. His hands were full with the kicking Prince, and, resignedly, he sped away after the others, leaving Thumbelina and Buzzby far behind in minutes.

Cornelius watched Thumbelina disappear at last behind them with an odd sense of relief. At least she had been spared. He held still for several minutes, clinging to his sword and gathering his strength. He hoped to escape.

At last he felt he was ready. He readjusted his grip on his weapon and waited for the Kobold to dip slightly in his flight, making it easier for the Prince to throw his weight upward and jab at the Fey's wing.

He missed the wing but landed a glancing blow to the Kobold's shoulder, leaving a long, bleeding gash. The Kobold was sufficiently taken by surprise and released Cor's non-swordarm; Cor seized his kidnapper firmly by the front of his tunic and kicked him hard in the legs. The Kobold took a swing at the Prince, trying to get a new hold on him. Cor twisted to the side; the failed followthrough of the swing threw the Kobold significantly off balance and he was forced to release the Fairy to keep himself plunging out of the air entirely.

Cornelius dropped several feet then hovered, facing his assailant. He was ready to fight the huge Fey, to the death, if need be. There was no time to lose; he knew he must find a way to overtake the Kobolds and save his people.

But the Kobold who had carried Cornelius off hesitated. He was already much too far behind the swarm...He looked anxiously between the swarm and Cornelius and, making up his mind, sped off into the sky.

Cornelius hovered there, panting slightly, and lowered his sword. He had been spared, then. But his people were long gone and Thumbelina and Buzzby many miles behind him. He was on his own. Sheathing his sword, he started flying in the direction the Kobolds had taken, keeping low to the ground.

Clearly he would need help. A bird, maybe, something that could fly fast, for long distances...He thought of Jacquimo, Thumbelina's swallow friend. A possibility. But how would he ever find him? He didn't even know where he was now: a field of tall grass bordering a forest. And his path was taking him directly into that forest.

As Cor was trying to decide what to do about the forest – fly through, over, or around it – he heard a crashing in the grass behind him. He'd barely turned around when the something came hurtling through the air and knocked him back about a foot before pinning him to the ground. Cor blinked as he fought to catch his breath, which had been knocked clean out of him, and managed to focus.

It was _that toad_.

Cor lay on his back, stunned. That toad! The big toad whose family had kidnapped Thumbelina and who had then proceeded to try and kill Cornelius personally; the same toad that Cor had driven over the side of an underground bridge – himself flying to safety in time - and whom he never expected to see again. And now that selfsame toad was sitting on top of him, his eyes boggling with fear. It was that expression that stirred Cor to action.

"So!" exclaimed Cornelius, shoving the toad off of him – as well as he could, as the toad was built like a cobblestone. "I wouldn't have expected it, but it seems I have some unfinished business with you!" He knew he had no time for this, but somehow, having to face down one toad was a much more refreshing prospect than taking on an entire swarm of Kobolds.

The toad, for his part, didn't seem all that interested in what Cor had to say. He kept making as if to dart around the Fairy, who, irritated, had to sidestep in front of him repeatedly to keep him from nipping past. Finally, Cornelius shouted, "Hey! Look at me while I'm threatening you!"

Suddenly the toad gave up trying to go around the Prince and hopped over his head. Affronted, Cor seized the toad by one ankle, tripping him and sending him sprawling onto his stomach. "Cowardly, eh?" Cornelius sneered.

And the toad did indeed seem terrified. He flipped himself over with a grunt and kicked Cornelius away from him sharply. Then he scrambled to his feet and once again began hopping off frantically in the same direction.

"Hey!" Cornelius buzzed his wings in indignation. "I'm talking to you!" He flew after the fleeing toad, catching up with some difficulty – the portly amphibian was faster than he looked. He zipped around to face the toad, flying backwards to do so. "Stand your ground and – "

It was then that Cornelius saw that the toad hadn't been running from _him_. Half-running, half-flying, and tearing up the ground at an alarming pace, was a massive white stork, its long red bill open in anticipation of a tasty amphibian snack. Suddenly it lunged and the toad leaped and Cornelius found himself plastered to the bird's head, right between the eyes. He couldn't suppress a yelp of fright.

The stork squawked angrily and shook its head in an attempt to rid itself of the thing clinging to its face, but it didn't slow in its pursuit of the toad. Finally with one mighty whip of its neck it managed to send Cornelius sailing off into the grass – but not without a price. The bird screamed in pain, but continued to chase the toad.

Cornelius rolled to his feet and dropped the great bunch of white feathers he had ripped from the crown of the stork's head. He was lucky to be uninjured, and he turned to put some distance between himself and the dangerous bird. He didn't, after all, have time for this; his people were waiting.

But after flitting away a yard or so, he had to hesitate and look back. The stork had stopped running and was now jabbing its long red bill repeatedly into the grass. The toad, Cor realized, didn't have a chance. Not, that is, unless somebody did something.

And there was nobody else there, Cornelius knew, but himself.

It was some sort of instinct that gripped him then, that caused his hand to snatch his sword out of its scabbard once again and that made his wings propel him forward to slash at the great stork's long red legs. As the bird stopped stabbing at the grass to turn angrily on the Fairy, Cornelius gave in to his built-in desire to defend the helpless, no matter who they were; and when he had at last driven the huge bird away after getting one of his own wings torn by the snapping beak, he felt a surge of pride. It had been the Princely thing to do.

Cornelius sheathed his sword and looked over his shoulder at his damaged wing. The pride abruptly vanished to be replaced by horror. His wing! How would he fly after the Kobold swarm now? This was a disaster! At once he was angry at the toad. I shouldn't have wasted my time on him, Cor thought bitterly as he started casting about for something he could use as a bandage. It didn't take him long to spot a shred of cobweb hanging from a bent blade of grass, and he applied it carefully over the tear. It would hold the membrane in place while it healed but in the meantime he would not be able to fly much, if at all, and certainly not quickly. This was the worst thing that could have happened.

A shadow suddenly fell upon Cornelius, and he turned to find himself not two steps away from the toad, who had emerged from his hiding-place – an old snake-hole – and now loomed over the Prince, blinking down at him coldly. Cor fluttered backward a pace and, unsheathing his sword yet again, held it out threateningly before him.

"Hold it right there, Toad," he warned.

The toad (Cor remembered his name now: it was Grundel, Thumbelina had told him) didn't budge. His large watery eyes locked with the Prince's as they stared each other down. The toad was dressed in the same pink and blue clownlike costume complete with pom hat that he had worn the previous winter; it would look cheerful on anyone else but on Grundel it just looked oddly grim. The Fairy and the toad regarded each other wordlessly for a few moments before Cor broke the silence.

"So," he said in a low tone, "you _did_ survive."

"_Si_," replied Grundel, not quitting the staring match, "I survive." He took another step forward (Cor made a warning motion with his sword). "You save me," the toad said gruffly.

Cornelius stiffened. What? "What?" he said aloud, frowning. For a moment he had forgotten all about the stork – he kept reliving an image of the jealous Grundel menacing him with a torch on the bridge over the dark underground dropoff.

The toad gestured after the departed bird. "_Pájaro maldito_ try eat me. Have me for _almuerzo_. You _save_ me." It wasn't said in a tone of respect, or gratitude; it was just stated, casually - but all the same the Prince thought he detected an undertone of malice.

Grundel was leaning forward now, looking intently into the Fairy's face, and Cor realized that not only had he unwittingly lowered his sword but the toad had loomed even closer while the latter had been trying to collect his thoughts.

"Ah, yes, well..." Cor edged backward. His own anger had dissapated to be replaced by confusion – this toad certainly wasn't acting the way he'd expected. "You're, uh...It was nothing," he concluded lamely at last, taking another step backward. His sword dangled at his side; he wasn't sure if he would need it after all but was reluctant to put it away. He felt a need to extricate himself from the situation; it wouldn't do to rekindle an old fight now if he could avoid it. If the toad was choosing to overlook the fact that they were enemies then all for the better. "You're injured," he noted, nodding at blood on the toad's shoulder where the stork had pecked him.

"Ees _nada_," replied Grundel dismissively. His beady eyes continued to bore into the Fairy's. It was making Cor undeniably uncomfortable.

"Well," said Cor carefully. "I'll be on my way, then." Eager to depart, he pivoted on his heel and began to walk hastily towards the wood, meaning to cross it and follow the Kobold.

But a heavy hand suddenly had his swordarm in a viselike grip, and Cor looked sharply round into those staring eyes again.

"What Fairy Prince's hurry?"

Cor managed not to show his unease. "I...I am on a quest," he answered, more grandly this time.

"What for?"

What, exactly, was wrong with this toad? Cor gazed at Grundel with uncertainty; the toad was watching him intently, like a snake might watch a field mouse, waiting for it to try and make a foolish dash for cover which isn't there. "To save my people," he said, relieved that his voice was firm. "They have been taken prisoner. And I must find Thumbelina," he added before he could stop himself. He closed his mouth with a snap – surely _that_ hadn't been a wise thing to say!

But if Grundel was waiting for any news of Thumbelina it didn't register in his wide, expressionless face. He released Cor's arm and stood up straight, gazing off into the woods as if trying to form a complete thought. Cor felt oddly compelled to wait patiently until the toad was done. Finally, Grundel grunted, tapping himself on the chest.

"I come," he announced.

"What?" said Cornelius again. He hadn't expected _that!_

Grundel shrugged almost boredly. "You save me, I help you; help look Thumbelina. We go."

This was just too much. First, the toad didn't seem at all disturbed to see the Prince he once hated so much, nor seemed particularly grateful for having his life saved by the same; but now he was offering to come along and aid Cor in his plight? This foul-tempered, jealous, great brute accompanying him into Who-Knows-What to rescue his Lady Fair? It was preposterous, and Cor opened his mouth at once to refuse.

But then something happened. In that moment Prince Cornelius saw the spot he was in. Really saw it. Yes, he had been separated from Thumbelina, true, but more importantly his entire Kingdom had been snatched away by evil Faerie-Kin presumably for some sinister purpose, to where he had no idea; and he was utterly alone in his task to save them. He didn't even have Buzzby. Was it wise to refuse an offer of help at this junction? Grundel was as thick as silt in a riverbed but he was obviously more powerful than he. If the toad were loyal, he would be an asset.

_If_ he were loyal.

These thoughts passed through Cornelius' mind in an instant, although he had the impression he had been standing there with his mouth open for a minute or more (but the toad could hardly mind, he thought further, I extended him the courtesy of reflection not a moment ago) before his curt reply of "Very well" rang on the still air.

The Fairy and the toad silently regarded each other once again. It was impossible for Cornelius to read Grundel's thoughts from the great stony face, and he entertained the distinct possibility that there were no thoughts there to read anyway. At last the Prince realized that his sword was still drawn and he sheathed it.

Grundel spoke first. "We find Thumbelina?" he blurted, an expression at last – one of distinct impatience – showing. "Or we stand here like weeds in swamp?"

Cor shook himself, feeling foolish for allowing his mind to wander. "Of course," he said, and then stopped, his heart sinking. "No...we can't," he amended regretfully.

The toad frowned at him, beginning to look truly irritated. "What?" he argued, spreading his great hands before him. "Now you no want look for her?"

Cornelius shook his head, his gaze fixed on a particle of dirt at his feet. "I cannot waste time backtracking," he said slowly. "Thumbelina is safe – or I think she is. No...I am the Prince of the Fairies. My duty is to my people." He looked up at Grundel, trying to appear more in command than he felt. "I must find where the Kobolds have taken them."

"Good, good," mused the toad, unperturbed at this change in plans. "What is Kobold?"

"They are evil Fey," replied Cor, his tone embittered. "They hate Fairies." He fully expected Grundel's expression to register a look of "I wonder why" but was not surprised when it didn't change at all. He recalled the way the Kobolds had appeared as if they had been hewn from stone, and added, "My father told me once that they dwell in the heart of a mountain."

"What mountain?" Grundel replied, frowning. "There no mountain here."

Cor rubbed his chin, an unconscious imitation of his father stroking his beard. "No," he replied. "We must travel far and ask many questions of those we meet. Someone is bound to give us advice." He thought this short speech sounded rather Princely and felt mildly proud of it.

But the speech was lost on Grundel. "How far?" demanded the toad abruptly. "How many questions? You no make sense." He paused then, and, incidentally imitating his own father, he rubbed his thin moustache as he looked Cornelius over. "Perhaps I just eat you, yes? Better than wasting words standing here like two fencepost, yes?" He leaned towards the Fairy then, appraising him for all the world as if he were trying to choose between _au jous_ or a honey glaze.

Cornelius set his jaw. What had he agreed to? "Do not threaten me, Toad," he said in a warningly soft tone. "If you wish to come along it is your choice, but I will not be bullied by you. If you do it again, I will have your head." He rested his hand meaningfully on the hilt of his sword without drawing it. "Do I make myself clear?"

Grundel, in response, narrowed his eyes at the Fairy, but he did not seem in the least intimidated. "You too much waste words," he grunted reproachfully. "I say, I come with you. But too long we stand here; you must not think Fairies in much danger or we leave before now. You not good Prince, I think." He swelled slightly, eying Cor critically. "Waste words, waste time! No good! Now, which way we go?"

Trembling with outrage, Cor forcibly removed his hand from his swordhilt. He could see now that talking to the thick toad was getting them nowhere; although the Prince was too offended to note that that was basically what Grundel had just pointed out. "This way," Cornelius replied abruptly, and marched purposely towards the forest without looking back.


	2. Chapter Two

_Chapter Two_

Buzzby was all in. He'd kept up a swift, almost frantic pace for hours, rather ignoring Thumbelina's occasional words of encouragement – he didn't need encouragement to pursue his master. But it was all over now.

Thumbelina sat up when she realized that the high-pitched hum of Buzzby's wings had turned into a lower-pitched drone as the bumblebee slowed, then began to descend. She'd been staring at the empty horizon so long that her eyes smarted from the wind and she pressed her fingertips to her eyelids as she allowed herself to accept the truth. Cornelius was gone.

Thumbelina had changed much over the past several months. Before she had met Cornelius she had always lived her life in one place, carefully watched over by her human adoptive mother and many loyal animal friends. She was so well looked-after that when she had suddenly found herself outside her sphere of knowledge, out of sight of her familiar surroundings, she had easily – much too easily - given in to despair. But when she had nearly allowed that despair to swallow her up, she had found within herself one last shred of inner fortitude and clung to it with a tenacity she had never known she had. Since that time, she had found that her courage had grown. It came easily to her now, and the Fairies often remarked to one another how much strength of character their lovely new Princess had.

But how strong could she be now? Thumbelina opened her eyes again to the darkening sky, her vision blurred. Cornelius and all her people were gone.

Buzzby landed on a broad leaf, his wings drooped at an unnatural angle. Thumbelina dismounted at once and, kneeling before the bee, put her hands on either side of his long face. "I'm sorry boy," she consoled him. And she was sorry. She remained there for a few moments, stroking Buzzby's head. The bee, usually so energetic, lay still, closing his shiny black eyes.

Thumbelina looked up at the twilit sky again, and searched for a last reserve of hope. I've lost Cornelius before, she reasoned to herself. Thought he was dead. But he wasn't. He came back to me. Or rather...She pondered. I met him. At the Vale of the Fairies. We could meet again. But where?

Thumbelina had a vision of Cornelius being carried off by that sinister-looking Faerie-Kin. A Kobold. They were Kobolds. King Colbert had shown her one in a painting. It was a painting of many different Fey, all gamboling together. The King explained that once they had all lived together in peace. But that was long ago. The Kobolds were now of the Dark Fey, and they despised Fairies. What would they do with her people? If they were taking the Fairies somewhere, wouldn't it be to their own land? Quite possibly not, but it was the only lead she had.

"I have to find the home of the Kobolds," she whispered to Buzzby, who gave no indication that he'd heard her.

Thumbelina stood up and looked around. The tree she was in stood alone in a field, and she thought she could hear a stream nearby. She could hear something else, though, and it sounded jarringly familiar. She fluttered to a higher leaf and listened. Someone was singing:

_À la claire fontaine  
M'en allant promener  
J'ai trouvé l'eau si belle  
Que je m'y suis baigne  
Il y a longtemps que je t'aime  
Jamais je ne t'oublierai!_

Thumbelina's heart lightened. "Jacquimo!" she declared, and flying off of the leaf she headed for a low branch, her wings trailing silver. She found her friend swaying to and fro, fussily adjusting the red feather in his gaudy hat.

"Jacquimo!" she said again as she lit, and the swallow looked round.

"_Bonjour_, Thumbelina!" the bird greeted her heartily, sweeping his hat in a wide arc and plopping it back onto his sleek head. "Out on an evening flight, _oui?_"

"No." Thumbelina fidgeted with her dress and shook her head. "No...Oh...Jacquimo..."

Jacquimo was at her side in an instant. "What is it, _chere?_" he demanded, suddenly serious. "Something has happened?"

Thumbelina nodded, but she resisted the impulse to cover her face with her hands and cry into the swallow's harlequin vest. She instead looked Jacquimo in the eye. "All the Fairies have been kidnapped," she said bravely.

This left Jacquimo speechless for a moment, allowing Thumbelina to continue. "I need to find the Mountain of the Kobolds. Jacquimo, you found the Vale of the Fairies for me. Will you help me again?"

The swallow shook himself hard, making every feather stand on end for a moment before smoothing down again. "Yes, _oui_, yes, of course, of course I will help you!" He was fairly indignant that such a thing could even happen in the first place. "These Kobolds," the bird continued, looking at Thumbelina expectantly, "you say they steal _every_ Fairy but you?"

Thumbelina kept her voice steady. "Yes, even Cornelius," she replied, and Jacquimo looked very grave.

"_Tres bien_," he said slowly. "I find this place, this Mountain. I start tonight."

"I'll come with you."

Jacquimo bowed, this time apologetically. "No, Thumbelina," he said gently. "There is no sense in me dragging you all about. Besides, I think I fly faster alone, _oui?_" Thumbelina nodded in understanding. "But, I take you first, to your dear Mother's house, how about that?"

Thumbelina nodded again, gratefully. "Yes," she said. "Yes, I would like that." She stepped forward, and paused, thinking of Buzzby; but she knew full well that the bumblebee could fare for himself. She climbed on Jacquimo's back and they were off, flying high across the fields.

Of course Jacquimo knew the way, and they were at the house in less than an hour. He lit on the sill of an open window and hopped inside. Thumbelina climbed down onto the bureau, surprising her Mother who was standing before it, combing her grey hair.

"Thumbelina!" exclaimed Mother delightedly, setting down the brush. "And dear Jacquimo! What a surprise."

Jacquimo gave a great sweeping bow. "_Bon soir_, Madame," he greeted her, "but, forgive me, I cannot stay. Farewell." And he vanished out the window and into the dark night.

"Well, Thumbelina, would you like some tea?" Mother put out her hand and Thumbelina climbed into it, like she used to do before she had wings and how she continued to do, because it was just comforting to her - like Mother was, and the old farmhouse. They bustled to the kitchen and Mother put on a kettle.

Thumbelina, on the breakfast table, settled herself on the cushion which was still kept there for her and waited for the tea to be done, rehearsing in her mind how she would tell her dear Mother what had happened without making her too upset.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"What you stop for now?"

Cor rested on a branch, glancing back at the cobweb holding the tear in his wing closed. He bristled at Grundel's sharp question, repeated now about ten times as Cor had been forced to land frequently to check his bandage. "I told you, I was injured!" he shouted, feeling his patience snap. "Saving you, if you recall."

Grundel landed heavily on a nearby branch, causing it to shudder and give up half its leaves. Despite his bout with the stork the sturdy toad had kept up easily, hopping through the trees, as Cornelius had set a rather slow pace. "What good go slowly?" Grundel grunted, pausing to snap a gnat out of the air with his tongue and gulping it loudly. "I hop fast, fast - faster than you fly."

"Well maybe I should hop and you can try flying." Cor grinned a little despite himself as he had a mental image of shoving the hateful toad off of the branch. "I could give you your first lesson right now."

The threat sailed right over Grundel's head. "Flying no good," he announced as if it were a monumental declaration. "I hop fast. I pig you on back. We no waste more time."

At this Cor recoiled. "Ride on your back?" he sneered. "Forget it! I wouldn't – "

Grundel abruptly sprang onto Cor's branch, which was rather thin, causing the Prince to flail wildly to keep from tumbling off. The toad suddenly seized him, pinning both arms to his sides.

"You no want my help?" The toad's tone was low and dangerous. They were nose to nose, and Cor tried futilely to draw his sword – this of course was impossible. "You save life, I help you," Grundel went on, his voice rising, and Cor began to feel truly afraid. "You think toad no got honor – I think Fairy Prince no got honor!" He squeezed, and Cor gasped. "Too good take help from common toad?"

But before Cornelius could argue Grundel released the Prince in surprise as something yellow, round, and yelling dropped from above to attach itself to the toad's face. Stunned, Cor could only watch in bewilderment as the toad staggered backwards off of the branch and tumbled noisily to the forest floor, grappling with the thing on his head.

"Prince Cornelius, are you okay?"

Cor looked round and found himself looking into the wide, concerned eyes of a small insect child wearing a buttercup as a bonnet. "That big toad was going to eat you, I saw him!" she went on. "Daddy was so brave to jump on him, wasn't he?"

The Prince kneeled before the tiny Jitterbug. "Buttercup," he said, "I appreciate your intervention, but I'm not sure that – oh no," he interrupted himself, looking down at the scene below.

Numerous Jitterbugs had joined Buttercup's father, Bramble, and now Grundel was surrounded by a teeming swarm, all of them darting in and out to deliver sharp kicks and punches to the surprised toad. A few hovered overhead, throwing berries and small stones. None of this was helping Grundel's mood any, as he was bellowing with rage and snapping his tongue ineffectively in all directions trying to nab the bugs, all of whom were luckily dodging.

"No, Prince Cornelius!" warned Buttercup, clinging to the Fairy's elbow as Cor prepared to jump off the branch. "They'll chase him away. Let's wait up here."

"But I don't want them to chase him away." Cor ignored Buttercup's look of confusion as he fluttered to the ground, the tiny Jitterbug still clinging to his arm. "Stop, stop, everyone!" he shouted, struggling to reach Grundel's side.

His voice startled the Jitterbugs, making them pause and look about in wonder. This gave Grundel opportunity to snatch a nearby bug in one great webbed hand – it was none other than Gnatty, Buttercup's tiny brother, who had bravely joined the battle despite warnings from the older bugs. Gnatty looked into the livid eyes of the toad and screamed.

Cor plunged forward, Buttercup dropping to the ground, and he seized Grundel's arm. "Let him go," Cornelius ordered the amphibian firmly, "Now." His eyes met the toad's, and both stood still, once again locked in a staring contest.

All the Jitterbugs froze, watching tensely, waiting to see what would happen. Nobody dared breathe. Surely the foul-tempered beast would kill both Gnatty and the Prince with one swipe?

But the air rang with gasps of amazement as Grundel instead obediently released Gnatty, who buzzed to the ground and ran to his mother, Briar. The toad continued to stare at Cor, but now with an air of expectance. It was the Fairy who dropped his gaze first.

"Forgive me," said the Prince.

The Jitterbugs began to murmur among themselves in astonishment. One stepped forward. "Your Highness?" he prompted respectfully. It was Bramble. "What's goin' on?"

Cor took a breath. "I am apologizing to my companion," he said steadily, looking at Bramble. "I have offended him and he was right to be angry with me." As the Jitterbugs looked around at each other in some confusion, Cor turned back to Grundel, drawing himself up straight to look the toad in the eye. Grundel was watching him with arms folded. "I have been arrogant," the Fairy went on. "We _are_ equals, and I _do_ want your help. And...I believe I _have_ been wasting time. You were right to be impatient." He waited, unsure if Grundel would disapprove of such a long speech.

But this time the toad merely nodded. "_Bueno_," he said, clearly placated, and Cor, who hadn't realized he had been holding his breath, let it out in a soft whoosh.

Bramble coughed. "We apologize as well," he spoke up, addressing Grundel, though clearly afraid to look the hulking amphibian in the face. "We...well, we _did_ think...I mean, after all..."

"We thought you were gonna eat him!" piped up Gnatty loudly.

"Gnatty!" gasped Briar.

But Grundel seemed not to hear. "Is getting dark," he pointed out. "Is soon owls come. No good stay out in open."

Cor nodded. "Right again," he said. "We'll find shelter for the night and tomorrow find someone who knows about the Kobolds."

"Your Highness," said Briar, "has something happened?"

"Yes." Cornelius turned to her. "A great tragedy, I'm afraid."

Buttercup gasped. "Not...Thumbelina...?" She glanced involuntarily at Grundel, who had suddenly, it seemed, become terribly bored with his surroundings.

"No, she got away."

"From what?" prompted Bramble.

"The Kobolds," replied Cor gravely. "The Kobolds have stolen away my people. Only Thumbelina and I escaped."

This statement of course resulted in gasps of dismay all around. "But where _is_ Thumbelina?" asked Gnatty.

"I don't know," admitted Cornelius. "But...she's got Buzzby with her. Maybe she went to her mother's house."

"You could meet her there!" suggested Buttercup, but she frowned when Cor shook his head.

"No," he said sadly. "Her house lies in the wrong direction. My people come first. Thumbelina will have to wait." Suddenly, he brightened. "Thistle," he said, turning to a tall, thin Jitterbug. "Can you find Thumbelina for me, tell her that I've gone to look for the mountain where the Kobolds dwell, and that..." He faltered. "...And that, I'll see her soon?" He hoped that wouldn't be an untruth.

Thistle saluted smartly. "Yes, Your Highness! Right away!" And he zipped off, right then and there.

"And Briar, can you show us to a safe place to pass the night?"

"Of course," replied Briar, casting an uneasy glance at Grundel, who still stood behind the Prince silently, once again beginning to show signs of impatience. She mentally went over nearby hollow logs and stumps, trying to pick out a suitable one. In a moment she nodded. "This way, then."

Ushering her children along before her, Briar led Cor and Grundel through the trees as the light faded. The rest of the Jitterbugs made a pretense of wandering away, but nearly every one of them ended up doubling back and trailing after the group furtively. Not one of them trusted that big toad to not harm their beloved Thumbelina's handsome Prince, and they would take it in turns to keep watch during the night in case something happened.

When they at last reached the large, rotted log, Grundel thumped it with one fist as if to test the solidarity of its structure. When nothing crumbled he grunted in satisfaction and scrambled on top of the log rather than inside without saying anything to anybody, and headed to the other end to help himself to an overhanging branch of wild raspberries.

Briar drew the Prince close to her, and the children leaned in automatically to listen. "You don't really trust that great brute, do you?" she whispered urgently. "After all he's done? Why, he could gobble you up in your sleep! He could snap you like a twig! He could - "

Cor spoke up before she could tic off any other unpleasant ways to die at the hands of a toad (the children's eyes had gotten very round). "He may be a brute," he said, "and his temper may be vile, but I'll need all the help I can get when I reach the Mountain of the Kobolds if I want to free my people."

"But surely one toad won't be enough! You'll need...you'll need an army, won't you?"

"Yes," replied Cor, nodding. "I shall. But first I must _find_ the Kobolds, and that will be no easy task. My father told me their Mountain lies far, far from here, beside a mighty river."

Briar shook her head. "But there are no rivers near here," she said. "Streams and rivulets, yes – but they go every which way. One might lead to the right river – but how will you know which one?"

"I have hope that someone, somewhere, will be able to tell me that."

The conviction in Cor's voice encouraged the Jitterbugs, and Briar inclined her head. "Then it must be so," she said. "Sleep well, Your Highness, and good luck."

"Thank you."

"Good night!" shouted Buttercup and Gnatty in chorus as Cornelius strode into the musty log.

Cor settled down on a patch of moss beneath a hole, and gazed up at the few stars not concealed by the forest canopy. He wanted to sleep, he knew he needed all the rest he could get before returning to his quest in the morning; but too much had happened today to let him shut down his mind and drift off. The mass kidnapping of the Fairies was the most catastrophic thing to happen to his people since the great Pestie Invasion of his great-great-great grandfather's time, when the Fairies had managed to drive off a horde of the puny but determined Dark Fey after suffering heavy losses. Well, to be fair, this was really much worse. Cornelius groaned and closed his eyes. Couldn't this have happened when someone else was in charge? He cringed at the un-Princely thought and rubbed the bridge of his nose, imagining what King Colbert would say if he knew what his son was thinking at this moment: that he wished he could go back and find Thumbelina and just hide away somewhere with her, to at least live out his years with the woman he loved...

But even as he tried to beat that cowardly thought from his head he remembered Thumbelina's angry face that afternoon, how she had raised her voice and thrown his gift back at him in a fury. Cor's hand trailed over and inside his pocket, and he drew out the offending diamond necklace. What was wrong with it? He held it in the starlight. It was a lovely, tastefully cut stone, which glittered enticingly. Sure, it was as big as both his fists together, but she was a Princess, for crying out loud! Her people expected her to look grand! He turned the diamond over and over in his hands as it glinted in the faint light.

The light suddenly vanished as something blocked the hole over Cor's head. "What you got there?" demanded a gruff voice, and Cornelius looked up sharply at a looming green face.

"It's Thumbelina's," he retorted defensively, holding it near the floor with one hand to try and place it as far from the toad as possible. But to his horror there was a pink flash and the necklace vanished in a spray of slime, Grundel disappearing from view a split-second later. Cor shot up through the hole as the toad spat the necklace out into his hand to look at it with interest.

"Give that _back!_" the Prince shouted furiously, making a grab for the diamond. Grundel jerked it away just in time, and Cor flitted about angrily to the toad's other side. "That belongs to Thumbelina!"

A faint smile tugged at the corners of Grundel's wide mouth. "Then why you got it, eh?" he asked, finding this new game rather amusing. Cor made another grab and the toad hopped backward nimbly.

"That's none of your business, Toad!"

"Oho!" grinned Grundel, leaping to the other end of the log as Cor made another grab. "Was gift, yes? She no like, yes?" He waved the necklace enticingly, hoping to goad Cor into snatching at it again; but Cor had paused mid-dive to stare at Grundel in some surprise; the toad had fallen on the right track very quickly.

"What did you say?"

Somewhat disappointed that the game had ended so soon, Grundel sat back and swung the necklace from one hand. He made a show of rubbing his chin and rolling his eyes as if deep in thought. "She say, let me think...She say, is too big, yes? And then," he went on with relish as Cor dropped to the log, too stunned to stay in the air, "she..._throw_ it at you!" And he threw the necklace straight into Cor's chest, the Fairy only just managing to grab the chain before the jewel could fall and tumble off the log.

"How..." Cor floundered, aghast, as the toad began chuckling with real amusement. "How did you _know_ that?"

Grundel grinned, putting his hands on his knees. "Is _women_," he replied, closing his eyes and nodding sagely. "Is all alike. I travel, all over world, and everywhere women is the same. You listen, I know, all woman this way."

Cornelius was frankly floored. He could not have possibly expected, of all the people in the world, this vile toad to be an expert in lover's spats. If he was so familiar with women, shouldn't he have known Thumbelina wouldn't appreciate being kidnapped and forced to marry someone she'd never met? Cor stood, staring down at the diamond for a moment, then slowly put it back in his pocket. He walked towards Grundel, who watched him silently but with lingering amusement, and sat near him. Eventually Cor spoke.

"Why didn't she like it?"

Grundel put on a long-suffering look. "I say I know how woman is. I not say, I know why."

Cornelius grunted and leaned back on his hands. "If you did, you'd be the most famous person in the world."

The toad laughed, and Cornelius smiled faintly.

"So, Thumbelina have fiery temper, eh?"

Cor looked sharply at Grundel and his smile vanished as he suddenly remembered that this was very the toad who had coveted his beloved to the extreme of trying to kill him to win her. It didn't seem proper to say anything about what kind of wife Thumbelina turned out to be. But it wouldn't do to irritate the toad, now that he'd gotten in a pleasant mood for once.

So Cor tactfully changed the subject. "You're the one with a fiery temper," he said slyly, raising an eyebrow at his companion.

"Ees _nada_," replied the toad lightly, completely un-offended. "I no temper. Look how I get along with Fairy Prince, yes?"

Cornelius raised the other eyebrow. "Is that an insult?" he smiled.

"_Por supuesto no_." Grundel continued to grin. "Is no insult. I only wonder, after you try kill me."

Cornelius's spine went rigid. "You tried to kill me too," he pointed out. "I was starting to get the impression you had forgotten what happened last winter."

"I no forget. I hear Thumbelina marry Fairy Prince. At first I no like, but then I glad."

"You...were?" Cor was mystified. "Why?"

Grundel shrugged. "You _Prince_," he said, waving one hand airily. "I am a toad."

Cor frowned. "Hey now," he said sternly. "I thought we agreed that we're equals." And after that fuss he made! he thought.

"Yes," replied the toad, nodding. "But...she is Princess now. She marry me, she have hard time. Life on road, is hard, is hard work. She get grey hair, get little wrinkles around eyes, think she fat. She be like Mama: dye hair strange color she no born with, wear makeup like plaster, and always on diet that never end. Is not good life."

Cornelius was silent for a minute after taking this all in. He watched the trees sway overhead. "You do love her, then," he said quietly. "You must, to be glad she's not yours."

Grundel sobered and peered round at the Prince. "I no love Thumbelina," he said simply. Cor looked at him.

"It sounds like you do," he said gently.

"No." The toad turned to look stubbornly at the stars. "Is mistake. Mama says, is my trouble. I..._apasionado_...Too much feeling." He hesitated searchingly. "I no know word," he admitted at length.

"Passionate," guessed Cornelius. "Well, you are, that." Grundel grunted in acceptance. "But you surely have no trouble meeting women?" Cornelius went on impishly, feeling bolder. "I mean, Thumbelina told me about your family and how you travel everywhere entertaining people. She said you seemed very successful."

Grundel blinked rapidly a couple of times when Cor brought up his family but he shook his head. "Is no trouble toad meet woman," he said with forced energy, waving an arm. "Is toad women everywhere. In pond, in stream, in swamp. Everywhere. Have only to sing."

"What do you mean, 'sing'?"

"Toad have many song," Grundel explained. "Song for find food, song for help, song for meet women."

"Do you mean croaking?"

"Is not croaking!" The toad bristled. "Is song!"

"Really?" Cornelius tried to sound especially interested so Grundel would not get too angry. "And this...singing, it brings the lady toads in droves, does it?"

Grundel allowed himself a self-satisfied smirk. "Usually."

"Show me."

The toad blinked. "There no lady toads in forest," he argued, flustered but trying to sound offended. Cornelius didn't fall for it, though.

"It doesn't matter," Cor assured him. "It's only a demonstration." He smiled encouragingly when Grundel gave him an incredulous look. "Oh come on, next time I'm in a swamp I'd like to know if I'm overhearing the Dating Network. Just do it once," he pleaded as Grundel continued to hesitate.

The toad threw Cor a defeated look. "Onstage I get many request, but this is the strangest, I think," he muttered. "All right, I do, because you save life – But once only." He suddenly leapt over Cor's head to the far end of the log and squatted there a moment, his throat pulsing.

Cor watched in rapt fascination.

Suddenly Grundel raised his head and let loose with the loudest, deepest croak Cornelius had ever heard; it rumbled through the forest and startled the watching Jitterbugs above. Their frightened jumps dislodged several leaves, making it appear as if the mighty croak had been a solid thing that had swept along through the branches knocking things down. The sound seemed to linger about them for a moment before fading off into the distance; this was followed by a hollow silence, as if the very forest were appalled that such a thing could have ever occurred within its boundaries.

"Very romantic," grinned Cor.

Grundel turned to him, looking smug. "Is good, yes," he stated rather than asked.

"Maybe you can teach it to me so I can do it the next time I see Thumbelina," added Cor, suddenly feeling a little glum. "And if I'm lucky she won't throw anything at me," he added in an undertone.

Grundel chuckled again. "I do not think it would work," he remarked.

Cor smiled wanly and shook his head. "You're probably right - I think if I made that noise my mother would confine me to bed for a month." Grundel laughed aloud but Cornelius felt suddenly depressed, and he sighed morosely.

"You thinking she never forgive you. You thinking, she mad forever."

Cor sighed a second time. The toad was good. "You didn't see her _face_," he muttered, clasping his hands across his knees and resting his forehead on them.

Grundel rolled his eyes heavenward. "Is that what bother you? Look," he said, giving a small hop and landing with a hollow thump at Cor's side, "you think right now, Thumbelina sitting somewhere looking at the stars and thinking, 'That Fairy Prince, he nothing but _idiota grande_, I should have married handsome toad'?"

Cor spluttered with laughter and hastily caught himself. "Sorry I – uh, no. I mean, no offense – "

"Ees _nada_," the toad assured him with another easy wave. "She no think that. She thinking...She thinking of last time she was with her Fairy Prince and he say – " here Grundel stood up tall and put both hands over his heart as he gazed dramatically down at an imaginary Thumbelina – "'I _love_ you, Thumbelina. I so glad you no marry that rich good-looking toad. Here is a teensy-weensy little diamond – '"

Cornelius wheezed with laughter. "All right," he exclaimed at length, wiping his eyes with the back of one hand as Grundel grinned down at him, "I get it." He chuckled for a moment more before turning a solemn eye on the toad, who had wandered off to the overhanging raspberry branch. "You know, you're pretty smart," he said with feeling. "I take back everything I've ever said or thought about you." He paused. "I'd still like to learn that Lady Call, though."

"Pfaw," grunted Grundel, tugging off a berry as big as a Fairy's head and watching the branch bounce upward. "You want impress Thumbelina, you use words."

"You mean...tell her how beautiful she is? Tell her...how wonderful...how kind – "

Grundel tossed the berry at the Prince, who caught it and took a bite, suddenly realizing how hungry he was. "Is no good just say," the toad admonished. "Is just talk."

Chewing, Cor pondered. He swallowed. "You mean, don't just croak when I can sing?"

Grundel nodded empathetically. "Sing, _si_, sing!" he exclaimed, holding one arm aloft dramatically. "Sing what you feel, and others feel it too." And, swept up in the moment, he burst into song.

The Royal Court of the Fairies has its own opera, and they are exceptionally talented – possibly more so by human standards, as Fairies as individuals more often have fine singing voices than humans and so those Fairies that sing professionally have honed their skills to a flawless edge. The voice of the toad Grundel, ringed with emotion, struck Cor in an instant as being possibly one of the best he had ever heard:

_La mia letizia infondere  
vorrei nel suo bel core!  
Vorrei destar co' palpiti  
del mio beato amore  
tante armonie nell'etere  
quanti pianete egli ha:  
ah! ir seco al cielo, ed ergermi  
dove mortal non va!_

Most Fairies don't travel far by human standards (being so much smaller), and therefore are almost never multi-lingual. Cornelius didn't understand the Italian words of the opera, but they spoke to him nonetheless; of one who longs to tell another how he feels.

Around and above the pair, forest animals stirred from their sleep for the second time and listened, surprised but somewhat pleased to overhear this performance (especially after that awful noise from before); and the Jitterbugs on watch, being sensitive creatures, sighed and closed their eyes and listened harder than anyone.

When Grundel finished grandly, Cor gazed in silence for a moment and then leapt to his feet, dropping the forgotten berry.

"Spectacular!" he gasped, applauding belatedly. "You have a marvelous voice!"

"Ees _nada_," replied the toad modestly, though he gave a short bow.

"I don't think I've ever heard better," insisted Cor, stepping forward. "You must...you simply _must_ play the Palace!" Again, mention of going back to normal life among his people made him hesitate, but he went on bravely, "My mother would _adore_ it." And indeed, Queen Tabitha was an immense fan of the Royal Opera. "Certainly you've performed for royalty before."

"Eh? Oh, no." Grundel, who had been trying to hide his growing pleasure at the unexpected praise, frowned slightly. "Mama's act is not kind you take before King."

Cor shook his head. "No, not _that_," he said, "I mean..._you_. You know...the opera. Have you considered joining a troupe? You'd have no trouble getting in. Perhaps," he went on quickly, "our own Royal Op – "

"No," said the toad so sharply that Cor was brought up short. "My Mama...she no like opera. She say it too..." He trailed off, evidently searching for words again.

But Cornelius didn't even try to guess at this one. "Has she not _heard_ you?" he exclaimed in disbelief. "Forget that flashy showboat; with a talent like that, you'd be – "

"NO," repeated Grundel, so firmly that it bordered on dangerous. Cor fell silent at once, wondering what he had said wrong. But the toad, turning away, did not give him a chance to ask. "Is late, we journey far tomorrow." And with that short speech Grundel hopped off of the log and disappeared inside.

Cornelius stood alone for a few moments, confused and a little disturbed. At last he fluttered down and lay at the opposite end of the log Grundel had taken.


	3. Chapter Three

_Chapter Three_

"You should sleep, dear. It's very late."

Thumbelina looked round into her Mother's anxious face. "I will, Mother," she said. "I – I just want to sit up a while longer."

Mother lowered her eyes; a small sigh escaped her. The matronly woman knew there was nothing more she could do to help her daughter with her worry. "All right, Thumbelina," she said, and picked a lit candle up from its place on the desk. "I will see you in the morning."

"Good night, Mother."

Thumbelina waited for her mother to close the door behind her before turning back to the window. She sat on the sill bathed in starlight, looking out at the quiet landscape beyond the small farm. She just couldn't stop expecting Cornelius to appear triumphantly, announcing that he had found her at last – but no, it wasn't she who needed rescuing! And yet, what could she do until Jacquimo returned with news?

Mother was right: it was very late, close to morning now. Perhaps she had best go to bed – it wouldn't do to be unrested if Jacquimo should arrive after sunrise triumphant.

But just as she had turned to fly into the dark room, a voice caught her by surprise: "Princess Thumbelina! Princess Thumbelina! I bring news of Prince Cornelius!"

Thumbelina spun about with a gasp as the Jitterbug Thistle lit, breathless, on the sill beside her. "What news?" she blurted urgently.

Thistle gazed at her. "Prince Cornelius quests for the Mountain of the Kobolds," he recited formally. "He wishes his Princess well and will see her upon his return."

Thumbelina opened her mouth to argue but thought better of it. She was about to inform Thistle that she had no intention of dawdling about her mother's house, waiting for the Prince to take all the responsibility for their people himself; but she didn't want the Jitterbug relaying that to Cornelius, who would only worry himself over her, and perhaps turn back. No, he would just have to be surprised to see her at the Mountain, at which time it would be too late to order her to go home and wait for him.

Thumbelina eyed Thistle, who appeared to be on the verge of saying something else. "Is that the whole message?" she prompted gently.

Thistle fidgeted, twisting his hat in his hands. "Well I – Er, that is to say...Yes, that is the message the Prince gave me..."

"But there's something else, isn't there?"

Thistle couldn't lie to his Princess. "I – Yes." He wet his lips. "It...It's that _toad_, Thumbelina," he blurted, forgetting himself and neglecting to use the Royal title.

Thumbelina gave a start. "Toad?" she repeated numbly.

"Er – yes. You know the one...Well," he went on as Thumbelina gave him a sharp look, "he's accompanying the Prince on his quest."

"He's _what?_" Thumbelina clapped a hand over her mouth and spun around, half expecting her mother to come stumbling into the room at the sudden outburst. But when it became evident that she had not been heard, the Princess turned back to the uneasy messenger. "What – Do you know _why?_"

"No, Your Highness," answered Thistle, collecting himself. "They are traveling together. But oh!" he exclaimed as Thumbelina stared at him, "He is savage! We all saw him try to kill the Prince – "

Thumbelina took to the air, hovering several inches above the sill. "You will take me to Cornelius at _once!_" she commanded.

But Thistle only cowered. "It is only hours until sunrise, Your Highness," he gasped. "It took longer than that for me to reach you. We would not make it before they departed." And he drooped miserably.

Realizing how she was behaving, Thumbelina at once sank down to the sill and put an arm around her friend. "I didn't mean to shout, Thistle," she apologized hastily. "I just...It's just that...Cornelius...with that _toad_..." She shook her head. "He'll _murder_ him...He can't be trusted...Oh, Cornelius..."

Thistle said nothing as Thumbelina trailed off. At length the Princess stood up straight.

"Thistle," she said, "thank you for coming all this way. You are a good friend." She smiled at the Jitterbug, and, relaxing, he smiled back, and bowed.

"Anything for you," he said.

Thumbelina nodded. "Go on home," she told him. "I will wait here for...for Cornelius to return."

Thistle hesitated. "Good night, then, Princess Thumbelina."

"Good night."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Traveling by toadback was, without a doubt, the most wretched experience Cornelius could remember ever having to endure – and that included all his childhood music lessons combined. There was the jarring launch upward, followed by the sickening drop, and concluded by the doubly-jarring forward landing; and then the whole process repeated itself. Grundel leapt along the ground, swerving around the trees, hopping on all fours; and as he occasionally ricocheted off of tree trunks he often traveled through the air sideways. Cornelius was having a hard time not only hanging on, his arms wrapped around the big toad's thick neck, but refraining from crying out, which wouldn't be very Princely.

They'd left the hollow log at daybreak. Not wanting to bother his hosts, Cornelius had roused the snoring toad carefully, fearing Grundel's temper; but the toad had not said a word to him all morning. Cornelius had mutely nodded when the toad pointed to his own back and grabbed on; and every moment since then had been a trial.

When Grundel stopped abruptly and stood up on a patch of dirt Cor simply slid off without ceremony and lay there flat out, his eyes closed, wondering if it were possible to know if one were suddenly missing an internal organ or two. He was now deeply grateful they hadn't stopped for breakfast. Finally, realizing that several minutes had gone by, he opened his eyes and sat up.

Grundel was squatting a few paces away, his back to the Prince. Cor got up slowly and wobbled over to him.

The toad, hearing him approach, did not turn around. "We reach stream," he grunted, pointing.

They had. The stream, flowing east, stretched off in either direction through the wood.

A stream leads to a river, thought Cornelius.

"Look there," said the Prince suddenly, now pointing himself. "A boat. Just what we need!"

A low-lying boat was anchored on the far side of the stream in some standing water. Instead of a cabin a canvas was stretched all around the center of the deck, concealing some kind of large room from view.

"Eh?" Grundel half-turned. "What for need boat?"

Cornelius paced back and forth along the bank, thinking. "We need to follow the water anyway to find the Kobolds," he explained. "Why not travel in a boat? It would be the fastest way."

Grundel didn't look too keen on the idea. "Not that boat," he objected.

Cor blinked at him. What now? "And why not?" he asked. "The owner might let us use it; you never know until you ask." Grundel didn't reply. "After all," Cor felt compelled to add, "I _am_ a Prince, and this is a Royal Mission. I'm sure they'll understand." At the toad's continued silence, Cornelius tossed his head. "All right then," he said, striding toward the water's edge, "stay here while I talk to the owner. If they agree to let us use the boat, I'll wave you over." And with that he fluttered, mindful of his wing, over the water to light on the deck of the boat.

There was no one in sight, but it still being early Cor was hopeful there might be someone below deck. "Good morning!" he called, walking around the deck and patting the canvas. "Anyone on board? Please, I need your help." He listened; someone was definitely moving below. "I need your boat," he said loudly. No reply. "Please open up!" he cried impatiently, standing before a door-like flap.

The flap was violently ripped open and Cor fluttered backwards in alarm from the nightmarish vision which stumbled on deck and stood over the Prince, gazing at him rapturously. It appeared to be female, but her species was entirely undecipherable: she was draped in a formless housecoat and her face was smeared over with bright yellow paste. Her pink hair was wound in curlers and a sleepmask was pushed up on her forehead. Below, fuzzy pink slippers adorned feet on the ends of long green legs.

"_Cuál es éste?_" cried the creature, flailing wildly. "Is emergency? Is boat on fire?" She staggered forward and Cor nearly fell over the railing in his effort to back away. "Are you here to _rescue_ me?" And she wrapped her long arms around him in a crushing embrace. "Oooh, you so _valiente!_" she squealed, pressing her cheek to his and getting yellow paste in one of his eyes. She set him down and mimed a swooning fit. "I am fainting! Carry me to shore, my _pequeño héroe!_"

Cor scrambled out of the way as the woman crashed to the deck. "I beg your pardon, Ma'am!" he blurted, scooping the yellow stuff off of his face and flinging it aside. "There's no fire – I...I didn't mean to frighten you – "

But the woman had scrambled nimbly to her feet and was advancing on him again, her eyes gleaming. "Well, no _problema_, my _el hermoso_," she purred, clasping her long hands beside her face and blinking rapidly. "We can make our _own_ fire – "

"Mama, what is that thing?"

Cor looked round frantically expecting a new threat as a toad wearing a French Legionnaire's uniform stepped through the flap and scratched under his hat in some confusion at the scene before him.

The woman grabbed Cornelius and thrust him behind her possessively. "Go back inside, Gringo, and play with your brother," she snapped. "Mama has a visitor." And she leered around at the Prince, who suddenly felt as ill as he'd been when he was being ferried through the forest not a quarter of an hour ago.

But Gringo didn't go back inside. "Hey Mozo!" he shouted through the door, one hand cupped around his mouth, "Mama caught another one!"

"_Please_, Ma'am," begged Cor, but that was as far as he got before a second toad, this one wearing a harlequin's costume, appeared on deck. "Mama, what is that thing?" the new toad parroted his brother.

"I think it's some kind of bug," Gringo said.

"Maybe a wasp?" suggested Mozo.

"Hey Mama," said Gringo, "can we eat your new boyfriend?"

"GO INSIDE!" screamed Mama.

Mozo pouted. "Mama never shares." Gringo nodded in agreement.

"I SAID – " But Mama froze in mid-threat, her mouth slightly ajar, as she looked past her sons at the ship's prow. Cor followed her gaze and, for what he was sure would be the only time in his life, was relieved to see Grundel climbing aboard.

"_No puede ser_," whispered Mama, her hand to her mouth, while Mozo and Gringo pressed against each other in fright as if a hurricane was about to crush the whole boat.

Cor ducked around Mama Toad and looked over his shoulder at the cowed threesome; then he turned back to Grundel, who was silently wringing out his sodden hat. "This is your family's showboat!" he guessed immediately. "Why didn't you _say_ so back on the bank?"

While Cor waited for Grundel to offer an explanation, Mama suddenly burst out rapidly, "Well, so many things to do: I must wash my hair and fold the towels and count the _dinero_ and...sew! Yes, I must sew something." And with that she vanished into the tent.

Cornelius blinked.

Mozo and Gringo glanced at each other uneasily; Mozo prodded Gringo and the latter stumbled forward. "Hey, bro," Gringo said with a forced smile, "back so soon?" Mozo stepped up beside Gringo, adding, "We about to leave without you."

Grundel grunted incoherently and slapped his hat back on without looking at anyone.

"So, who's your _amigo?_" prompted Mozo.

Grundel still didn't look at anybody. "This Fairy Prince," he said abruptly.

The effect of this introduction was electric. Two toad jaws all but hit the deck as Mozo and Gringo gawped at Cornelius in shock.

"Um, hello," offered Cor gingerly.

"What you doing with Fairy Prince?" Mozo demanded loudly, and Gringo promptly clapped a webbed hand over his brother's mouth.

"_Cállate!_" hissed Gringo urgently. "You want Mama to hear?"

Cornelius shrugged. "Would that be so bad?" he asked, adding as he reddened slightly, "I think she kind of likes me."

"No, no, no, no, no!" cried Gringo, oblivious to Mozo's efforts to free himself from the headlock Gringo had him in. "Mama hate you! She find out who you are, she feed you to _pescados!_"

"I...don't understand," frowned Cor, watching as Grundel skulked off, disappearing around the back of the tented stage.

Mozo wrenched himself out from under his brother's arm. "You marry Thumbelina!" he whispered, glancing furtively at the tent. "Mama wanted Thumbelina for show."

"Mama say _many_ bad things about you," added Gringo.

Cor's frown turned to a scowl. "Your mother was wrong to try to force Thumbelina to join your act," he said, trying to control the volume of his voice. "Besides, Grundel says he doesn't want to marry Thumbelina anymore."

Mozo and Gringo seemed tickled by the very idea, and began sniggering at once. "Did that _idiota grande_ tell you that?" sneered Mozo. "He just sore loser."

"Although nobody can blame Thumbelina for running away." Gringo shrugged. "Grundel, he uglier than old catfish." And he pulled the corners of his mouth down grotesquely, his tongue lolling. Mozo howled with laughter.

Affronted, Cornelius spun on his heel and marched up to the tent's flap.

"Mrs. Toad!" he called out forcefully. "I need permission to borrow your craft! This is urgent business!"

Mama Toad's face, the yellow paste gone and makeup applied (though her hair remained in curlers) appeared at the flap. "What this you say?" she asked in some surprise.

Cor took a steadying breath; the two brothers were both cackling like hyenas behind him. "There has been a catastrophe," he explained steadily. "I need to travel along the river and I request the use of this vessel. I promise to compensate you for your cooperation." When Mama just blinked at him in confusion, Cor switched tactics. "I need your boat," he said shortly. "I'll pay you."

Mama understood that. "Why not you say so!" she exclaimed, throwing the flap wide to reveal an outfit Queen Tabitha would have never permitted in the Palace. She tore the curlers out of her hair and tossed them away. "You tell my sons what to do. Mozo! Gringo!" she shouted, clapping her hands at the two toads who were gasping and clutching their sides, "Stop that _jaleo_ and help our guest! I make breakfast, okay?" she addressed Cor with lowered eyelids as Mozo and Gringo sobered reluctantly. "You like." Cor managed a weak smile as Mama leered at him, putting one long finger under his chin. Then she withdrew and closed the flap. Cornelius exhaled with relief and turned to the brothers.

"We need to get this boat into the stream," he said. "We'll need some reeds."

As Mozo and Gringo pulled a reed apiece out of the water beside the boat Cornelius pulled out two and walked round to the other side of the tent. Grundel was squatting on the other side of the stage glowering at the near bank.

"Here," said Cor, holding out one of the reeds. "We're going to punt out into the stream. What's the matter?" he said impatiently when Grundel didn't even look at him. "Look, I don't understand you," Cor went on, his tone chafing. "I thought you were helping me."

Grundel slowly turned his head to look balefully at the Prince; then he unhurriedly stood, took the reed, and pushed it into the bank. Cor followed suit with the remaining reed but the boat didn't move out into the current until Mozo and Gringo joined them; then the craft slid along the stream at a respectable pace.

When the four men had gotten the boat steady, Gringo elbowed Mozo. "Hey Fairy Prince," Gringo said slyly as they both grinned. "Did our bro tell you what happened after you push him off that bridge?"

Cornelius didn't argue the point about pushing Grundel off of the bridge – the _toad_ had pulled _him_ off – and only said shortly, "No." He glanced curiously at Grundel to check his reaction: the big toad was expressionless as ever but his knuckles had turned white as he gripped his punt with unnecessary force. Cor recalled how he had managed to break the toad's grip on his arm before reaching the bottom of the cavern; and he had been so intent on finding Thumbelina that he hadn't stuck around to even listen if Grundel had met his end. It was only known that he had fallen a long way and it was unlikely anyone could survive an impact like that.

"_Well_," Gringo went on with relish, "Mole's hole near stream, you know, so the deeper parts are all full of muck – "

"And Grundel he so fat he hit the mud and SPLAT – " Mozo had taken up the tale – "he sink like _pesado_ rock to the bottom."

Both Mozo and Gringo started laughing all over again. "It take him all spring to dig his sorry _poto_ out," wheezed Gringo, slapping his leg.

Mozo leaned on Gringo as he was weakened with glee. "He spit up mud for a week!"

For a moment Cor was torn between pity (to be buried alive for an entire season!) and amusement ("_SPLAT!_"); but before he could fully register either there was a loud cracking sound behind him as Grundel, positively livid, broke his punt in half. Throwing the two pieces aside he howled with rage and hurled himself at his brothers, pinning them to the deck.

The sudden violence frankly unnerved Cornelius, and he dropped his reed in shock as the three toads rolled about, Grundel banging his spluttering brothers' heads alternately on the deck and roaring like a bull. The Prince whipped out his sword, sure he would need to prevent a murder or two before it was too late.

The timely appearance of Mama Toad bearing a tray of food found Cornelius flitting above the brawl, looking for the best place to insert his blade. But instead of screaming and flinging rice and chunks of stewed cattails everywhere, Mama merely stamped one high-heeled foot in impatience. "_Muchachos!_" she admonished, and Grundel abruptly stopped trying to put Mozo and Gringo's heads through the deck. "Stop that at once! We have a guest!"

"Sorry Mama," chorused Mozo and Gringo. Grundel, still gripping his brothers' collars, said nothing. Cornelius still hovered above them, at a loss; but at that moment he noticed something. "Mrs. Toad..." he began.

"I know, you are _starving_, poor little _chiclet_," crooned Mama, mincing forward with the tray. "You see, I make special treat for you. I hope you like spicy food." She winked meaningfully up at the Prince.

"Mrs. Toad," he tried again, pointing over the prow.

"Oh, don't worry," Mama went on, taking Cor's attempt to get her attention as a negative reply, "I make it mild, you no – "

The boat jolted suddenly as it rammed into a felled tree branch spanning the stream; with a surprised lurch Mama sent the entire tray of breakfast spraying all over Mozo and Gringo. "_Ay_, what happen?" she cried, spinning to survey the branch for a moment. "_Muchachos_," she stamped her foot again, turning back round and glaring down at Mozo and Gringo, who where still pressed onto the deck under Grundel's weight, "what were you thinking?"

"But Grun – " Mozo started to protest; but Gringo silenced him with a punch to the head.

Mama hesitated for a moment, then spun on her heel and flounced back to the tent. "Well go on, go on – get it out of the way," she said sharply, and disappeared inside once again.

Cor landed on the railing as Grundel stood up, stared after his departing mother for a moment, and moved away to the other side of the boat. Mozo and Gringo, wiping food out of their eyes, leapt into the water and swam in opposite directions along the branch.

"Well?" prompted Cor when they'd swum back, a few minutes later.

"We can clear it," replied Gringo. Cornelius breathed out in relief.

"But it take two days. Maybe more," added Mozo.

Cor slumped and touched his forehead. "Oh no," he muttered. "All right," he said at length, "well, maybe between the four of us..." He frowned and looked around. "What's with that Grundel?" he complained. "He keeps wandering off."

"Mud poisoning," suggested Gringo, and the two brothers burst into teasing laughter once again.

Cornelius had had enough. "That's it; I can't take any more of this crazy family. I'm leaving." And he flew to the bank and pushed though the reeds, trying to put as much distance between himself and the showboat as possible, as quickly as he could.

"Toads," he mumbled in disgust, as Mozo's and Gringo's laughter finally died away behind him.


	4. Chapter Four

_Chapter Four_

It was an ambush!

Thumbelina spun nimbly in midair and jabbed. A direct hit! She zoomed in a tight arc towards the ground, her rapier flashing, as she dove towards a group of her attackers. Jab, slash, parry, thrust! Her wings showered silver sparks as the Princess zipped to and fro, battling the enemy in a wild blur.

At last, victory! Thumbelina lit on the ground and surveyed the battlefield, panting. "That's for taking my people," she said regally, through gritted teeth. And then she turned around.

She stood before her mother's full-length mirror. The daydream faded: the Kobold cavern around her turned back into her mother's bedroom, the glinting rapier in her hand back into a blunted darning-needle, her silver armor back into a fine lavender gown. Thumbelina felt a little foolish, but also somewhat affronted. Fairy women were not permitted to train for combat, and Cornelius had adamantly refused to even let her hold his sword despite her great interest. It simply wasn't done.

But how she desired to fight to get her people back, to stand at Cornelius' side when he reached the Mountain!

"'Allo, 'allo, Thumbelina!"

Thumbelina spied Jacquimo in the mirror, fluttering to land behind her. She turned, dropping the needle. "You're back!" she exclaimed, clasping her hands together. "So soon! Oh, Jacquimo – tell me you've found it!"

The swallow held up his wings to ward off any more questions. "I do just as well," he replied. "I find somebody who knows where it is. Come, he is waiting." And he flew up to land on the windowsill. Thumbelina followed him immediately.

"There's no one here." The Princess was deeply disappointed.

"Well I'll be blowed! It really is a little Fairy! I never would have thought!"

Thumbelina startled at the voice, which came from directly overhead. She looked up to see a brown bat hanging by his feet at the top of the window jamb, gazing down at her in fascination.

"I'll have to record this," the bat went on, clearly excited; he reached around to remove a quill and a book of sorts from his vest. "'Specimen,'" he mumbled, writing in the book, "'Light Fey, Flower Fairy, female, five - no, five and a half centimeters, sighted nine forty-two am, twenty-second of June.' Got it." He put the book and quill away and flapped on down to the sill. Thumbelina looked at him with polite interest.

The bat was about a head taller than Jacquimo, with huge concave ears and a flat snout with pointed nostrils. He wore a misbuttoned yellow plaid vest and patched green trousers; these in conjunction with the book he'd been writing in gave him an "absent-minded professor" sort of air. His sleepy eyes were, at least when he was not hanging upside-down, all but obscured by a wild shock of shaggy fur. This and his overall rumpled appearance reassured Thumbelina, who normally might be afraid of such a creature. She smiled.

"Thumbelina," said Jacquimo after the bat had landed, "this is Cecil. He assures me he knows where the Kobolds live."

"Your Highness," said Cecil politely, bowing. The book he had stuffed down the front of his vest suddenly slid forward and bonked him on the chin, forcing him to straighten quickly and rub the sore spot with one wing. "Er – charmed," he said quickly, smiling apologetically.

"It's just Thumbelina," she corrected him, preferring that non-Fairies just call her by her name. "Are you sure you know where the Kobolds are?" Thumbelina said urgently.

"Oh, yes," the bat assured her. "I was a professor of Mythological Studies in London for a spell – before I got sacked, you know."

"Sacked?"

"Well, most folks just don't believe in mythological creatures," Cecil said with a shrug. "It was either me or the bloke what taught Girl's Badminton what got the sack, so they had to make a decision. The same old sad story, yeah? But no worries, I'm on extended holiday now; I'm touring Europe, recording magical sightings."

"Er...have you got many so far?" asked Thumbelina out of politeness.

Cecil nodded, pleased. "A fair few," he told her. "And I seen them Kobolds of yours, round a Mountain east of here, by the river. That's why when this bird – " he indicated Jacquimo with a jab of his thumb – "started squawking up a storm about Kobolds in the cave I was trying to sleep in last night I thought I'd have a go."

"Thank you _very_ much," Thumbelina told the bat. "It's extremely helpful. Will you tell Jacquimo where it is so he can fly me there? We must leave right away."

At this Jacquimo coughed gently, and Thumbelina winced.

"Oh, Jacquimo, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking," she said. "Of course, we'll wait until you've rested."

Cecil looked back and forth between the two with uncertainty. "It's an emergency, is it?" he asked. "If the bird needs to rest, I could flap you on down there myself."

Thumbelina smiled dazzlingly at the bat. "Oh, _could_ you?" she gasped. "It's just that I'm so worried..."

"It is a good idea," Jacquimo spoke up. "A bat can fly in the dark, even better than I."

"That's right," nodded Cecil. "Give the old echolocation system a kick in the trousers. No trouble at all."

"And after I rest, I will follow you," said Jacquimo. "Perhaps I catch you up."

Thumbelina threw her arms around the swallow's neck. "Thank you, Jacquimo," she said. "You are a dear friend."

The bird gave a modest bow. "Anything for the Fairies," he said. "Take care of her, my friend," he told the bat with an amiable wink; and then he flew off towards the distant trees.

"Do you need to pack?" Cecil asked Thumbelina.

"No, but I have to say good-bye to my mother. Wait for me – I won't be a minute."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Cornelius picked his way along the streambank, occasionally swiping irritably at an offending blade of grass with his sword. The stream flowed east and he followed it for want of any other course of action. The toads' showboat now lay far behind him; apparently no one was following him. For which he was glad – he couldn't get an image of Mama Toad leaping amorously out of the grass at him out of his mind.

Once again he cursed the stork for damaging his wing. It would heal, yes; but it would be days before he could fly without worry of causing a permanent injury, and how much longer would his people last in the heart of the Mountain? Worse...what if they _weren't_ in the Mountain? What if the Kobolds had taken them somewhere else – how would he ever find out? And who could he ask that would know the business of Fey? Another member of the Fey, certainly, but he knew of no other Faerie-Kin within any sort of reasonable distance from his own Kingdom. Then again, he mused, he had already strayed farther from the Vale than ever before.

Suddenly he heard a bumblebee droning nearby, and paused. If only that were Buzzby, Cor thought dismally. The bee droned again, and Cornelius found himself wandering towards the noise wistfully. If only...He swept aside a sheaf of grass, and blinked.

A large, handsome bumblebee was struggling in a massive spiderweb stretched between a couple of cattails beside the stream. It looked so much like Buzzby! Was it possible?

"Buzzby!" called Cornelius, uncertain, moving a few paces closer. The bee stopped wriggling for a moment to regard him with his shiny black eyes. His drone turned into a high-pitched whine and he wiggled his antennae alternately up and down.

Cor was ecstatic. "Good boy!" he shouted, flying forward and starting to hack at the web with his sword. "You found me! You took Thumbelina home, didn't you?" Buzzby dropped to the ground, free but his wings glued together with sticky webbing. He began turning in circles, trying to clean it off with his forelimbs. Cornelius laughed. "Come here, let me help you."

But at that moment the owner of the web, a great orb weaver spider, appeared in the grass. It scuttled forward so suddenly towards the cattails that Cor was startled backward into the remainder of the web, his wings and back sticking fast.

"No!" he gasped, trying to swing his sword but unable to move his arm. "Get back!"

Buzzby reared forward but the big spider was quicker, racing up the cattail and heading for its meal. Cor stared with horrified fascination as the fangs jabbed forward to paralyze him.

Suddenly something snared him by one ankle and he was yanked out of the web by a long pink sticky tongue. And then Grundel was holding him by the front of his tunic and glowering down at him. "You leave me behind," the toad reprimanded.

"Spider! Spider!" squeaked Cor, pointing madly at the orb weaver which was now scuttling towards the toad.

Grundel frowned at the interruption; he held Cornelius off to one side while he snarled at the spider, stomping the ground before it with one foot. The spider stopped short, took one look at the menacing amphibian, and took off like a shot into the grass.

Buzzby rushed towards Grundel, humming angrily. The toad planted his foot on the bumblebee's head and held him at bay as he turned his attention back on the shaken Prince.

"You leave me behind," he repeated.

Cor swallowed. "Please put me down," he said.

To his surprise, Grundel did at once, and Buzzby backed away, shaking his head indignantly.

"You saved my life."

But the toad just looked at Cor. "Why you leave me behind?" he asked, his tone changing.

Cornelius hesitated. "I'm sorry," he said. "But..."

"What?"

How on Earth to put this? "I...It's just...Well...Well frankly, it's your temper," Cor managed at last.

Grundel dropped his gaze. "I no temper," he protested weakly. "I go with you, help the Fairies."

But Cornelius shook his head – the toad's violent mood swings were just too volatile. "No," he said, turning to help Buzzby pull the webbing off of his wings. "You've done more than enough, saving my life just now. Why don't we call it even."

At last the bee's wings were clear and Cornelius jumped gratefully on his back; Buzzby, thrilled, revved up his wings and waited for his master's signal to take off. "Go back home," Cor shouted over the drone.

For a couple of seconds Grundel stood there, looking a bit hurt. "I no home," he said shortly, and, turning, started walking, not downstream in the direction of the showboat, but back towards the trees. Towards the clearing Cornelius had first found him in.

Cornelius started to lean forward but before he gripped Buzzby's antennae – the signal to take off – he froze as the toad's words and actions struck him as strange. "Wait, Buzz," he said, and the bee stopped his wings and drooped, disappointed.

Cornelius thought about how Grundel's appearance on the boat this morning had caused a sensation, not to mention how Mrs. Toad not only didn't greet her son but also never even seemed to look at him. And they definitely never said one word to each other...

"Grundel! Grundel, wait!" Cor had dismounted and was now hurrying after the retreating toad. "Wait." He caught up to Grundel, who stopped walking but did not look at him. "What do you mean...You mean you don't have a home?"

"When I no bring Thumbelina back," said the toad slowly, still not turning around, "Mama angry. She say many bad thing. I get angry too, leave show. Mama say, show is family; if I leave show I leave family. Now I no home."

"I didn't know. I'm sorry." Cor passed a hand over his face. "I shouldn't have left you behind," he said, "and I promise to never do it again."

Grundel turned round then, and gave him a baleful look.

Cornelius shrugged and smiled wanly. "Well, are we going to stand here like a couple of weeds in a swamp or are we going to go find the Fairies?" He started back towards Buzzby, keeping eye contact over his shoulder with the toad, who hesitated, then followed him.

"All right, boy," said Cor, kneeling before Buzzby and stroking his head. "This is Grundel. Don't sting him." He stood up and looked at the toad. "This is Buzzby. Don't eat him."

Buzzby and Grundel eyed each other warily.

"Can you keep up with a bumblebee?" asked Cornelius, swinging a leg over Buzzby's back.

"I keep up. We follow stream?"

"Yes. Though I'm sure it twists and bends, all streams do...I'd rather go as the crow flies."

"Big bend in stream, that way," said Grundel promptly, pointing south. "Stream go left."

"How do you know that?"

"Saw kingfisher drop."

Cor exhaled. "Boy am I glad to have you back," he said. "Right, then, we'll cut across the reeds and rejoin the stream later; it'll save time. Let's go, Buzz!" he commanded, and was relieved to once again feel the rush of air as his faithful bee bore him off into the sky.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Berkeley Beetle was having yet another bad night.

"Throw me out...no sense of style...I'll show them up...they'll regret this for a million years..." Having lost his crew of yes men weeks ago when they refused to work for no money, he had picked up the habit of talking to himself. "Berkeley Beetle will shine again in the entertainment industry, mark my words!" he shouted, one fist raised, as he glared into the distance at the last night club he had tried in vain to get to hire him as stage director. "I didn't want to work for you yahoos anyway!" he went on vehemently, scowling furiously. "Why would a bug of _my_ expertise, _my_ talent, _my_ reputation want to work for a bunch of _SLUGS??_ Slime and silk don't mix, pal!" He turned again and stalked off across the field, arms crossed tightly against his sides. "Slugs," he mumbled.

Berkeley's life had been going steadily downhill ever since last winter, when a bad-tempered toad had taken his wings and, despite the fulfillment of a bargain, never gave them back. In fact, the toad himself seemed to have disappeared off of the map, as Berkeley had spent a fortune on private investigators who searched without luck all spring for a Spanish toad named Grundel. Berkeley became so obsessed with getting his wings back that he lost his job at the Beetle Ballroom, which resulted in losing his apartment and having to sell off all his possessions, and finally, as mentioned, losing his employees as he went flat broke. He was looking rather shabby these days.

"Stupid toad," he grumbled, falling into a well-worn groove. "What did he have to take my wings for? Any normal thug would have taken my wallet. Who takes someone's wings, that's just barbaric. It's all that ugly girl's fault," he switched tactics. "None of it would have happened if it weren't for her. I wish I had never heard her stupid screechy voice in the first place - Hey, that's it!" he exclaimed, stopping short and listening.

Sure enough, as he pushed forward through the weeds, it became clearer: Thumbelina's voice, trilling a song. Berkeley crept along like a weasel so he could see her. He nearly screamed in indignation when he did.

"_She's got wings,_ she's _got wings!_" he squeaked, chewing on the fingers of one hand. "How did _that_ little midge get wings when I – " And then he remembered something.

Yesterday he had been scrounging half-empties at a seedy bug bar when he overheard a grunting conversation between two thugs swilling thistlebeer in a dark corner. Apparently a reward had been posted for anyone who had spotted Prince Cornelius or Princess Thumbelina of the Flower Fairies, whom were both missing. Or at least, someone was searching for them.

Berkeley trembled in the grass, pulling unconsciously on his ragged handlebar moustache, which had seen much better days. A reward! He had even overheard where news was to be taken in order to claim..._the reward_. The beetle beamed and rubbed his hands together. "Hot-cha!" he cackled. "I knew you'd pay off eventually, toots!" But without his wings, he knew, he could hardly just swagger up and grab the girl. No, he'd have to watch, and listen, for opportunity to knock...


	5. Chapter Five

_Chapter Five_

Thumbelina sang softly as she gathered a few edible roots and flower petals. She was on her way to meet Cornelius! All morning they had flown, and it was now early afternoon. Cecil flew very fast – not so fast as Jacquimo at top speed, but Thumbelina was more than satisfied that they would make good time. Neither had gotten much sleep the night before, and they had paused to catch a few hours of rest - at this moment Cecil was hanging in a nearby tree snoring – but Thumbelina had woken first and, hungry, fluttered to the ground to find something to eat.

Thumbelina sat on a rock and ate a flower petal. She wished there was some way to train with a weapon before reaching the Mountain; she wasn't sure she'd be much use otherwise if Cornelius needed warriors. And she did want to be useful! She tried to think of what else she could do that would turn the tide against the Kobolds.

"There you are." Cecil landed heavily beside Thumbelina. "Hope you haven't had to wait for me very long, I was well knackered."

Thumbelina shook her head. "No, I was just sitting here thinking..."

"What about?"

The Princess had filled the bat in on the plight of the Fairies as they had flown. "I was just thinking that I wish I could bring Cornelius an army to help fight the Kobolds," she said as the idea struck her that very moment. "But I don't know if very many animals would be willing to fight Faerie-Kin."

Cecil nodded. "Right you are – most don't even believe in them. They'd think you were a nutter, even if they got a right look at you. Claim your wings were strapped on, like, they would. I remember this hare, back at university, what had glued a brass trumpet to his forehead and went about insisting he was a unicorn. Didn't help _my_ reputation any." The bat frowned. "'See any Rabbitcorns lately?' they'd say to me in the cafeteria – "

"If only humans would help!" interrupted Thumbelina before the topic was lost forever.

"Oh, nah, nah," disagreed Cecil quickly. "A lot of humans stumbling about looking for Fey! They cause enough damage by accident without us telling them where to do it. No," he went on thoughtfully. "What we need is some more Fey."

"But I don't know where any are."

"Hold on a tic." Cecil retrieved his field journal from his vest and flipped through it. "I remember passing through this area just a few days back and spotting something but I make so many inconclusive notes...Here's the entry, yes...Yes, it seems I caught a suspicious flash of blue light moving about in a pool, don't think it's too far from here. I wrote down, 'possible Nixie sighting'."

Nixies. King Colbert had told Thumbelina that they were water sprites, similar to Fairies in appearance but warlike and savage.

"But Nixies are of the Neutral Fey," mused Thumbelina aloud. "They don't care for Fairies."

"Well they're a sight better than Dark Fey, aren't they?" asked Cecil, putting the book away. "They're supposed to be fighters. They'd make quite an army."

They would. Thumbelina could see herself now, leading an army of Nixie warriors to the Mountain and surprising Cornelius, who'd look at her with admiration and awe. "It's a good idea," she told the bat with finality. "Is the pool much out of the way?"

"Nah, it's just a skip."

"Then let's go."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Mud. I _hate_ mud."

"I sympathize, but at least you won't smother if you get swallowed up. It must be handy to be able to breathe through your skin underwater...Come on, boy!" shouted Cor impatiently over his shoulder.

Buzzby hadn't been able to fly far. Flying all morning and much of the previous night had sapped most of his strength; and now both he and Cor were grounded, leaving them to struggle to keep up after Grundel, who was coping with the thick bog they'd blundered into much better than either the Fairy or his steed. To make things worse, it had gotten dark very quickly.

Grundel grit his teeth. "I rather smother," he grumbled. "_You_ try be buried in cold muck for three month, see how _you_ like."

Struggling to traverse the putrid swamp had worn Cornelius' nerves rather thin, and he was in no mood to start a pointless argument with the touchy toad. "Look, I'm sorry about that," he snapped, "but you asked for it!"

"I no ask be thrown off bridge into – "

"_I didn't throw you!_" Cor retorted hotly. "You were after Thumbelina! You tried to kill me, too, you know!"

Grundel seethed. "I was trying save Thumbelina from _you!_" he growled. "I wanted marry her!"

"Yeah well, she didn't want to marry _you!_ She wanted to marry _me!_"

It was the wrong thing to say. Cornelius managed to dodge just in time as the big toad made a swipe at him.

"Knock it off!" yelled Cor. "I warned you about your temper!"

"_I no temper!_" howled Grundel, swinging again and this time sending Cornelius sprawling in the mire.

"Stand down, Toad!" shouted Cornelius, grabbing for his sword, but he wouldn't need it. Buzzby, indignant that someone would dare strike his master, leapt upon Grundel as the toad prepared to kick at the Fairy.

"_Abeja asquerosa_," roared the toad, reaching around to yank Buzzby off his back. "I crush you like – AAAIIIIIEEEEEAAAHHHH!" Grundel screamed as the bumblebee stung him on the leg.

Cornelius picked himself up and morosely swiped muck from his face with his forearm. "That's what you get for acting like a fool," he said angrily.

Buzzby dropped to the ground as Grundel hopped about in agony. "He sting me, he sting me!" he was shrieking, both hands pressed to a spot on his left thigh. "Is _dolor tremendo!_ I die now, _aeeeiah!_ Killed by Fairy Prince in stinking swamp!"

"Oh knock it off, you won't die." Cornelius went to check that Buzzby hadn't been hurt in the scuffle. "If Buzz had been _trying_ to sting you to death, you'd _be_ dead by now."

Grundel stopped hopping and scowled at the Fairy. "You no-good _insecto_," he glowered. "Is _your_ fault we stuck in this bog _asqueroso_." He staggered forward and grabbed Cor by his much-abused tunic and held him off of the ground. "Now I no hop, you no fly – better that bee _had_ kill me 'cause now we die here anyway!"

Cor, dangling, threw his hands in the air. "Well that's just great," he sputtered. "My people get kidnapped and the only person I can find to help me is a fatalistic toad. That's it, I'm making a Royal Decree: Henceforth, no member of the Royal Family will keep company with a toad if he wants to retain his san – Hey!" he exclaimed suddenly, "Look over there!"

Grundel didn't look. "I no fall for trick," he snarled, pulling Cor closer. "I too busy squeeze you into bugbutter to – " Then he looked anyway as he caught a flash of light out of the corner of his eye. "Eh? Is light!"

"Yes, is light!" parroted Cornelius, and he wiggled free as the toad loosed his grasp. "There's someone over there! We're not alone in this swamp! Come on! Come on, boy!" he encouraged both his companion and his mount, his most recent brush with death taking a backseat to the possibility of getting out of the dismal bog. He started towards the distant, bobbing yellow light at the best approximation of a jog he could muster over the mushy ground. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the toad limping wordlessly after him, and Buzzby floundering along behind.

"Come on, keep up! We're getting closer!" At last, thought Cornelius. I can't stand this marsh much longer! "Perhaps they'll take us to their house, and give us something to eat!" Cor went on breathlessly, suddenly regretting how breakfast had been spilled all over Mozo and Gringo. "I'm famished!"

Grundel replied by snapping up a big horsefly and spitting out a wing.

"...And now I'm not," winced Cor. "Funny how that works."

"Light move away," Grundel pointed out, nodding at it.

"No it isn't," Cornelius denied quickly, not wanting it to be true. But, unfortunately, the toad was right: the light, which had gotten enticingly closer, was now bobbing away from them. "Hey!" shouted Cor urgently. "Come back! Wait! We need – We need to get out of this swamp! Please help us!"

Suddenly Cornelius slipped on a particularly slimy patch of muck and fell flat on his face, spread-eagle in the mud. He pushed himself up gingerly as Grundel, panting and wheezing, drew up alongside him.

"I finish," gasped the toad, bent over, his left hand clamped over the spot where Buzzby had stung him. "Is bee poison me. I no more run."

Cor suddenly realized that this was no mere whining; Buzz had been known to knock out a snake with a non-lethal sting. "You can't quit now," he urged, putting the toad's right arm about his shoulders and trying to support him. It was quite like trying to keep a steel brick from toppling over. "Just a little bit farther."

Grundel jogged a few paces obligingly before stopping again. "Is no good," he winced, and he fell forward. Cor, under the toad's arm, also fell, and they both lay sprawled on their stomachs side by side in the mud. Behind them, Buzz sank down, exhausted.

Cor kept his head down; he felt so defeated. For his quest to end here, this way...He squinted as a bright light suddenly illuminated the whole area.

"Well well well!"

Cor and Grundel looked up wearily. Before them, hovering about twice Grundel's full standing height above the ground, was a very strange Fairy-like being. He was extremely skinny, with pure-white skin, and wore a suit made up of so many garish colors that it was almost offensive. He had long white hair that was arranged to stand up in peaks, making him appear as if he had very recently been struck by lightning. His wide blue-violet eyes glinted with cockiness and the edges of his thin mouth curled up in a devilish grin.

But most remarkable were his long, pointed wings, which were inexplicably pulsing with a strong, bright light, bathing the gaping Fairy and toad in yellow.

"What _that?_" gasped Grundel, transfixed.

Cor swallowed. "It's a Will o'Wisp," he said in dismay. "A Dark Fey."

"What dark?" Grundel started to argue; but then the Will o'Wisp began an odd, victorious sort of mid-air dance.

"I did it, I got you!" he crowed in a tinkling, singsong voice as he sashayed back and forth delightedly. "Once more I led foolish weary travelers to their doom! Wink, baby, you are a _gem!_" he congratulated himself, looping-the-loop gaily. "Now then," he said to no one in particular, "let's see what we got." He zipped to hover above Buzzby, who hummed dangerously and shrank away from the softly throbbing light of the Fey's wings. "Oooh, a wee pesky bumblebee, uh-huh, uh-huh, very nice! Pat on the back!" he smirked, actually reaching around to give himself a pat between the shoulder blades. "What else, what else..."

Grundel gawked up at the floating Fey with huge eyes as Wink appraised his next victim. "Hmmm, hmmm," mused the Faerie-Kin, stroking his chin and bobbing up and down. "A lame toad. Fat, too. Well, you can't win them all, I suppose..."

"You can stop gloating now, you vile thing!" voiced Cor with all the determination he could muster. He shoved Grundel's arm off of him and tried to rise, but he was too mired to get even halfway off of the ground.

"Oooh!" squealed Wink in rapture, hovering backwards a bit to get a better look, his hands plastered to either side of his long, mocking face. "An icky, ickle _Fairy!_ Why, that's a hundred points, ha ha!" He spread his arms wide and shot up into the air several feet, spinning so that his wings, now a bright pink, left spiraling trails like a double helix. The Fey floated slowly back down, his wings pulsing red. He jabbed a finger at Cornelius, his eyes now a bright green.

"You Fairies think you're _so_ smart," he hissed, his tone suddenly venomous. "But you'll have your day yet, every last one of your prissy, simpering kind!" A second later, though, he had gone back to yellow wings, purple eyes, and an impish grin. "And I caught one, I did, I did!" He bounced, hyper, up and down in the air with glee. "Yes, you and your ugly friend are mine, mine, _mine!_ Losers, losers, ahahahaaa!"

Wink turned his back on the Fairy and the toad, and the light in his wings abruptly switched off, the sudden darkness blinding to eyes that had gotten accustomed to bright illumination. A second later letters appeared in orange on the transparent wings, one after another: L – O – S on the back of the left wing and E – R – S on the right. They winked out, then lit back up again in purple; and they continued to flash in alternate colors while Wink cackled insanely.

Cornelius and Grundel gaped, dumbfounded.

"Prince Cornelius of the Stinky Flower Fairies, that's who he must be!" the Will o'Wisp babbled to himself delightedly. "Oh, the Kobolds'll get a kick out of this! They'll – HEY!!!"

Grundel stood up painfully, disengaging his tongue from Wink's ankle as he gripped him by the throat. "What Kobold?" he roared. Cor was on his feet in an instant.

"Where are my people?" cried the Prince, drawing his sword and putting its point to the Fey's left temple.

The Will o'Wisp blinked back and forth between his two attackers; then he opened his wide mouth and screamed.

"Knock it off!" yelled Cor, and the Will o'Wisp shut his mouth with a snap.

Grundel shook Wink, making the Fey's wings, now a sickly green, rattle. "Where Kobold Mountain?" the toad demanded. "You tell us!"

"Aaaugh! Aaaugh! Aaauuughhh! Stop, stop it!" Wink screeched. "Can't you control your pet?" he pleaded with Cor, who had decided his sword was unneeded and had put it away.

Cornelius shrugged. "Nah," he said casually. "And I've frankly given up trying. Now," the Prince leaned forward and narrowed his eyes dangerously, "where have the Kobolds taken the Fairies?"

When Wink didn't respond immediately, Grundel started shaking him again.

"I dunno, I dunno, I _dunno!_" screamed Wink, his vibrant eyes bulging.

"Oh well," said Cornelius in mock boredom, looking up at the toad. "I guess you'll have to eat him."

Wink's lower lip trembled. "That's not _fair_, it isn't, it isn't," he whined piteously. "He won't _tell_ me where the Kobolds are."

"Who won't?" said Cor sharply.

"My _brother_." The Will o'Wisp blinked back tears. "He says I'd _tell_. I'd never tell anyone, never – Exceptyouguys!" he squeaked hastily as Grundel squeezed him.

Cornelius gripped Wink's shoulder and leaned close to the quivering, pale face. "Take us to your brother, then. Now. Or I let the toad eat you."

Grundel licked his great lips hungrily, and Cor didn't doubt that he _would_ eat the miserable Fey if he got the chance.

After he'd quit wailing, Wink directed Cor and Grundel through the bog to a small shack built almost invisibly against the side of a rotted tree stump. Buzzby managed to drag himself behind the group. The Fairy and toad were just as spent but this new development had given them both a burst of renewed strength.

"Cobalt! Cobalt!" shouted Wink as the trio entered (the bee choosing to remain outside the shack, which had become suddenly rather cramped). "Don't kill me! They made me do it!"

The Will o'Wisp called Cobalt, who was shorter, stouter, and balder than his brother, jumped up from his armchair and dropped the scrap of paper he was reading. "Great flashing fireflies, Periwinkle!" he gasped in a rather squeaky voice. "What have you gotten yourself into _this_ time?"

"You will tell us where the Kobolds have taken the Flower Fairies!" cried Cor, pressing Cobalt against a wall with his sword. "Or I will extinguish your foul light for good!"

Cobalt gaped, horrified, at his assailant; then he glared over the sword at Wink, who still dangled from Grundel's right fist. "Wink, you dimbulb!" he chided. "You got too close to your victims again! What am I always _telling_ you?"

"But...But..." protested Wink feebly. "They...Coby...Gack," he concluded as Grundel tightened his grip.

"_Tell me_," raged Cor impatiently.

"The Mountain of the Kobolds lies to the east!" blurted Cobalt in terror. "The stream meets the river and the river will take you there!"

Cornelius stepped back, mollified. They had been following the right path, then. "And the Fairies are there?" he further interrogated the Will o'Wisp, his sword still raised.

"Yes," Cobalt replied reluctantly, his brilliant blue eyes narrowing. "The Kobolds have taken them to the Mountain. Along with many other Light Fey."

"More Fairies?" asked Grundel.

"No," Cor told the toad grimly over his shoulder. "He means other Faerie-Folk."

"Yes," repeated Cobalt, his eyes flashing green as his fear began to fade. "I hear they've gotten some Sprites and Pixies, and a few Brownies as well. They'll see to it that you miserable spreaders of sweetness and light get what's coming to you – Eeepdon'tkillme!" he squeaked as Cornelius poked him angrily in the chest with his sword.

"You wretched coward," snarled Cor, restraining himself from slaying the evil Fey on the spot. "Taking delight in leading innocent people to their doom isn't good enough for you, is it? You have to crow over the deaths of hundreds of good Fairies and their ilk! Now," he went on, remembering something, "how is it that your sniveling brother knew who I was?"

Cobalt shot an angry look at Wink, who could only whine. "There's a bounty on your head," the shorter Will o'Wisp answered reluctantly. "Yours and Princess Thumbelina's." Cor stiffened at the name. "I took it upon myself to offer a reward for information concerning your whereabouts. If we could deliver one or both of you to the Kobolds ourselves, we Will o'Wisps might get to share in the destruction of your kind." He hesitated. "We weren't invited, you see," he added in an undertone.

"Well?" prompted Cornelius, his voice shaking. "Have you heard anything? About Thumbelina?" He was answered by defiant silence. "_Well??_" he repeated, jabbing Cobalt again just as Grundel squeezed Wink's throat.

"No! No!" cried the brothers in miserable chorus. "We don't know where Princess Thumbelina is!"

At that moment the door burst open behind them. "I know where Princess Thumbelina is!" Berkeley crowed, then stood rooted to the spot, gaping at Grundel, who looked equally surprised.

"Sorry, wrong house," quipped the beetle, turning to bolt; but it was too late. He was swiftly transported to Grundel's left hand via the toad's tongue and found himself face-to-face with Wink, who stared at him wide-eyed.

But Berkeley's eyes were screwed tightly shut. "Augh! Augh!" he screamed, kicking. "Let me go! Haven't you abused me enough??"

"Where is Thumbelina?" growled Grundel, shaking Berkeley while Wink put on a smug look, gratified that he wasn't the brunt of the toad's anger any more.

"Thumbelina? Thumbelina who? Aaaaaauuughhh _all right all right all right!_" The beetle whimpered and finally opened his eyes. He blinked at Wink, who smiled and waved at him.

"You!" cried Berkeley, his eyes shooting daggers. "You must be a Will o'Wisp! This is all _your_ fault!! This was all a set-up! You lying little moth-magnet!" And he reached out and started throttling Wink with a ferocity even Grundel had not yet shown.

This was out of the realm of Grundel's expertise. He looked plaintively to Cornelius for help.

He needn't have worried; Cor wasn't having any. "All right, that's enough!" He slid the point of his sword under Berkeley's chin and pressed until the beetle released Wink and both stared at him in fright. "That's better," hissed the Fairy. "Now. Where did you see Thumbelina? If you do not tell me, it won't be _him_ you'll need to worry about." He jerked his head towards Grundel.

Berkeley swallowed with difficulty. "I saw her in a field."

"_Which_ field?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Why _not?_"

Berkeley gave an exasperated sigh. "Because she _left_."

Cor gritted his teeth. "If you don't know where she is _now_," he spat, "what good did you think your information would be to these creatures?"

Irritated once again, this time at Fey in general, Berkeley folded his arms tightly and glared at a wall.

Cobalt made a disgusted noise and Cornelius whirled on him. "Did you have anything to say?" he demanded.

"Yeah. You're a terrible interrogator." Cobalt rolled his blue eyes. "Oh sure, you're all scary with your sword and your domesticated frog over there, but you don't know what questions to ask! It's pathetic!"

Cornelius started to feel very out of control of the situation. "Well, I..." he faltered, glancing to Grundel, who just blinked back at him. "What _should_ I ask?"

"You have to be more _specific_," answered Cobalt in a superior "I-know-more-than-you" tone. "Leave no room for misleading answers." He shrugged. "Of course, I wouldn't expect a member of the Light Fey to be much good at this sort of thing. You're just not crafty enough, are you? Too busy granting wishes and dancing around mushrooms to – " He fell silent at Cornelius' murderous glare.

After a brief pause, Cor turned back to the beetle, who was watching him carefully. "A specific question," he murmured softly. He couldn't think straight between thoughts of finding Thumbelina soon and being both hungry and exhausted.

"Oooh, oooh, I got one!" volunteered Wink cheerfully, waving one hand in the air with gusto. "How about, 'Where is Thumbelina _now'?_"

"Good one, little bro!" nodded Cobalt. "That's thinking with your head. For once."

"They _are_ a lot better at this than you," Berkeley had to point out.

Cor sighed. "Just answer the question."

Berkeley drew himself up as best he could. "They went to the Pool of the Nixies."

"Nixies!" gasped Cor in surprise. "There's Nixies – " Then he caught himself. "What do you mean 'they'? Who else was with her?"

Berkeley tugged at his moustache. "A bat," he replied. "A great big, ugly, hairy bat. Don't worry pal," he looked up at Grundel, "he wasn't half as ugly as you."

Wink burst out in squeaky laughter. Grundel bonked the beetle and Will o'Wisp's heads together in reply.

While Berkeley was still reeling, Cornelius grabbed him by his shabby lapels. "Where is the Pool of the Nixies?" he asked him.

"How should I know?" glowered Berkeley, rubbing his head. "I don't even know what a Nixie is."

In an instant Cornelius was upon Cobalt, pinning him to the wall again with his sword. "But you: you, I am certain, know what a Nixie is, don't you? You are going to take us to their Pool. Now. Or both you and your brother are going to make a couple of hungry marsh hawks very happy. Is _that_ specific enough for you?"

Cobalt indicated, by incoherent squeakings, that it was.

"Hey!" shouted Berkeley indignantly as Grundel released him and shoved him towards the open door. "Where's my reward? I was supposed to get a reward for bringing information here, and I'm not leaving until I get one!" He bent his wrists on his hips and scowled around the room.

"I give no-good lying beetle reward," said Grundel gruffly. And in an instant he had removed Wink's wings and pressed them into Berkeley's hands.

"HEY!" Wink shouted; but it was too late.

"JACKPOT!!" Berkeley swung the wings around and fastened them onto his shoulders. They started to glow a brilliant purple as the beetle lifted off the ground. "I'll be filthy, stinking rich in no time! Nice doing business with you," he enthused, pumping the toad's hand energetically. "Your Royal Highness," he addressed Cornelius, all over respectful, bowing in mid air. He shot out the door, trailing neon. "I told them I'd shine again!" were his last words as he vanished off into the night.

Grundel dropped Wink, who landed with a bump on his rear end and stared mournfully after his departed wings.

Cornelius gave Cobalt a shove towards Grundel and the toad seized his arms. "Time to get moving," said the Fairy, sheathing his sword.


	6. Chapter Six

_Chapter Six_

"Do we...er, knock?"

Thumbelina walked slowly round the still, blue pool, twisting her skirt nervously. "I don't know," she told Cecil quietly. "I've never spoken to a Nixie before. I've never even seen one – just a painting. And it wasn't a very _good_ painting."

Thumbelina and the bat had arrived at the pool early that morning. The Fairy had felt at once that there was something..._unique_ about the pool; although she'd be hard-pressed to say why. For one, there was absolutely no animal life on, in, or around it – not a single dragonfly or mosquito, even. The pool itself sat serenely in its environment, deep turquoise and smooth as glass. Thumbelina didn't doubt for a second that there might be Fey living in its depths. But she wasn't so sure they'd be friendly.

After their initial examination of the pool, Thumbelina and Cecil had helped themselves to a nearby bramble of wild blackberries before returning to gaze curiously at the water for signs of life.

"I _did_ see something here before," Cecil broke the silence, only slightly defensively.

"I believe you," Thumbelina told him. "I feel...that there's something – or someone – here. But where are they?" she mused.

"Maybe we'll have to swim."

The Princess chewed her lip. "I think I forgot to mention before: I can't swim." She stared at the ground. "I'm afraid of drowning," she mumbled.

Cecil caught the shame in her voice and touched her on the shoulder. "No worries," he told her. Any element can be dangerous, even deadly, if you get too much of it at once. It's why we only take one breath at a time, right?" Changing the subject back to the Pool, the bat rubbed one eye. "Well...Maybe we should try chucking something in, yeah?"

"That seems a bit...crude." At once Thumbelina floated off of the ground, her wings fluttering. "I'm going to take a closer look," she told the bat. "Stay here." And she glided out over the water.

Cecil didn't offer up a protest; he just stood on the bank, watching Thumbelina almost anxiously.

Thumbelina flitted almost to the center of the pool; she gazed down at her perfect reflection in the ripple-free surface. Was there truly no one here? It seemed impossible, with the strange feeling she had. She watched her reflection, entranced, as she imagined her face changing – from rounded features with cornflower-blue eyes and light brown hair to angular ones with charcoal-grey eyes and black hair...and blue skin...

Thumbelina barely had time to open her mouth to scream as a pair of blue hands shot out of the pool to seize her by the legs and drag her under. Suddenly everything was water – choking, swirling water. Several pairs of hands gripped her now, and she was being dragged forcibly down, down deep, deeper. It was all she could do to _not_ scream, to not suck in a lungful of water and drown on the spot. Her eyes bulged in terror; her long hair formed a honey-colored cloud around her face, shielding her captors from view. She had been under too long! She let her breath out in a stream of bubbles; she could hold out no more.

And then she was flung, gasping and sopping, onto a hard, cold floor.

"Get up."

Thumbelina's hair was still in her face, streaming icy water. She was being prodded with something sharp.

"The Chief will want to see you," said a second voice. And the Fairy was hauled, coughing, halfway to her feet and dragged bodily across the floor.

Thumbelina only managed to get her hair swept aside as she was thrown to the floor yet again, her knees making sharp contact with the stone. She gaped around at the chamber she was in.

This was not a natural cavern. The walls were heavily ornamented with many small, smooth, colored pebbles, pushed into the dirt as to form geometric patterns. The ceiling was extremely smooth, and appeared to have been coated with an even layer of sand. Simple dips sat in carved stone candelabras mounted on the walls, bathing the chamber in an even light near as bright as the daylight outside.

The room was filled with people. They were the same size, Thumbelina noted at once, as Fairies, and they were similar in appearance. But they had blue skin and black hair that hung in ropes, and their ears (were they ears?) fanned out on either side of their faces like fins. Their wings were thick and wide, and not transparent like Fairies'. Every one of these people were muscled and armed with spears, and were evidently warriors. But what struck Thumbelina the hardest was the fact that there were women present as well as men, and both sexes seemed equally strong and fierce. They all wore simple clothing, obviously fashioned with the intention of not hindering movement; there was not a dress in the lot. The men were shirtless and many of the women sported bare arms and midriffs. No one wore shoes. Thumbelina had never seen anything like it.

"Stand up, Fairy."

Obviously impressed and shaken, Thumbelina looked round to gaze at the speaker, who was an especially formidable-looking woman warrior seated on a sort of seat built into one wall. This woman wore a band of entwined reeds on her head and Thumbelina guessed correctly that she was the leader. The Fairy stood, and curtseyed respectfully.

"Stand up _straight_," snapped the Leader, who had never cared for curtsying. Thumbelina straightened up immediately. "State your business here," the blue woman ordered.

"I – I am Princess Thumbelina of the Flower Fairies."

"I did not ask you for your _title_."

"I'm sorry," stammered Thumbelina. "I came to seek the Nixies."

The Leader sat back. "We are the Nixies," she stated. "Why does a Fairy seek us?"

"Because my people are in grave danger." Thumbelina, emboldened, stepped forward. "I need...I need help."

The blue woman stood up slowly, and Thumbelina now retreated a step. "I am Chief Vezuvaali of the Nixies of the Still Pool," she intoned, and every Nixie in the room bowed their head. "And I do not give assistance to trespassing Fey who cannot help their own kind but must come crawling like worms to beg favors from my warriors." Her grey eyes narrowed as she appraised Thumbelina coldly. "Are you a worm, Princess Thumbelina?"

Affronted, Thumbelina narrowed her own eyes. "I am not," she replied. "And I am not so foolish as to sit around weeping over my misfortune rather than go seek help from beings I had heard rumored were mighty warriors!"

If this angered Vezuvaali she did not show it. "Sharp tongues gain no favor from me," she said evenly, sitting back down. "We are not vigilantes; my warriors only aid other warriors in battle." She arched a fine black eyebrow. "Are you, then, a warrior?"

In response Thumbelina snatched a spear from a surprised Nixie and pointed it at the Chief, who now drew back a little. "Do you want me to fight?" she gasped, her wings trembling in indignation. "Do you want me to prove that my people have been stolen? _My people!_" she cried, whirling to jab the spear at every nearby Nixie. "I'll fight," she exclaimed, turning back to Vezuvaali, her eyes blazing. "I've come this far. I'll fight to the death if I have to. Perhaps it is too late to save my people anyways. But I will _not_ curl up and die!"

Vezuvaali, clearly angry, opened her mouth to speak; but at that moment there was a commotion at the back of the room and Cecil, his wings bound to his sides, was tossed with an "Ooomph!" onto the floor, accompanied by the distinctive sound of wet fur hitting stone. A couple of warriors took advantage of the distraction to seize Thumbelina while a third confiscated the spear.

"We caught this beast swimming in the Pool," stated a woman warrior, stepping out from behind Cecil with five other guards.

The Chief struck her fist on an arm of the throne. "Insolent animal!" she growled at Cecil. "Most know better than to bathe in the domain of Fey." She waved an arm at the guards. "Throw him in the dungeon."

"No!" cried Thumbelina, trying ineffectively to lunge out of her captors' grasp.

"Throw her in as well," added Vezuvaali disdainfully. "I've grown tired of her shrill voice."

Thumbelina waited until the Nixies who had thrown her in her small cell had left before bursting into tears.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

When Cornelius woke up it took him a few moments to remember where he was and how he had gotten there.

Last night the Will o'Wisp Cobalt had directed them to the edge of the bog; when grassy, solid ground was in sight Grundel had released the cursing Dark Fey and he, Cor, and Buzzby had collapsed where they stood from sheer exhaustion. That was the last thing Cornelius could remember.

He sat up stiffly, aching all over from hours of wading through mud, and compulsively checked his cobweb bandage. It was, astoundingly, still in place. Lurching to his feet, Cornelius reflected on the remarkable webspinning abilities of some unknown spider out there when he heard a loud splash from up ahead. It was then that he realized that Grundel was nowhere to be seen, although he did spot Buzzby, still asleep, not six inches away.

Limping painfully, Cornelius followed the sound of water until he reached a pool. It was deep blue and devoid of your typical pond life, save for some bubbles and ripples near the edge where Cor stood.

Cornelius knew at once that this was the Pool of the Nixies; there was something surreal about the whole place, everything was entirely too...still. Except for this commotion in front of him. Warily, Cornelius drew his sword. Nixies, from what he had heard, sounded like a dangerous lot, and he wasn't taking any chances. He tensed as a shape suddenly broke the surface.

It was Grundel. Cor exhaled loudly and put his sword away.

"What are you _doing?_" exclaimed the Prince as Grundel climbed up onto a rock and wrung out his pom hat. "This pool is inhabited by Fey! Possibly hostile Fey! You don't go swimming in a pool inhabited by Fey!"

Grundel rolled his large wet eyes towards Cornelius. "Why?" he said shortly.

Cor rolled his own eyes in response. "It's...well, it's disrespectful, for one," he answered. When Grundel looked at him reproachfully he translated: "It's rude."

The toad _hrmphed_ loudly. "_They_ rude," he growled huffily. "Pond for all animal share! Not for greedy water Fairies keep for selves! I swim where I _like_." And to emphasize his point, Grundel dove back into the water.

"_Grundel!_" shouted Cornelius in exasperation. "He's going to get us killed," he told Buzzby, who had ambled over to see what all the commotion was about. Scowling, Cornelius turned his back on the Pool and wandered over to the same blackberry brambles Thumbelina and Cecil had visited not two hours earlier. Buzzby followed him. "Well there's no reason to starve over it," the Prince went on, picking a few berries for himself and the bee.

But when Grundel didn't reappear after about twenty minutes, Cornelius became uneasy.

"That toad picked a terrific time to hibernate," muttered Cor, stepping back up to the edge of the Pool and trying to peer in. The surface was too reflective to see through. He called the toad's name, hesitated, and then called again, louder. No response.

"Great." Cor frowned and put his hands on his hips. He turned around. "Buzz," he said, "we're going to have to – " But that was as far as he got.

Cornelius was dimly aware of Buzzby charging forward, droning indignantly, as someone grabbed him from behind and dragged him underwater. His captors pinned his arms to his sides, making it impossible to draw his sword, and he felt the water rushing past him as he was carried swiftly downward. Suddenly, they were rising at an angle, and then he was out of the water and thrown onto a cold stone floor.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?"

Cornelius was on his feet in an instant, his sword drawn and pointed at the one who had spoken. It was Vezuvaali, and she was livid.

"Fairies! Animals!" The Chief was purple with rage. "No one disturbs my Pool! Lock him _up!_"

Suddenly Cornelius was surrounded by a dozen well-muscled Nixies of both genders, all of whom were equipped with spears that they jabbed at the Fairy, trying to disarm him.

In a spurt of gold sparkles, Cornelius shot upwards and darted down a corridor, the dozen guards following hotly on foot. He immediately came across another group of Nixies, who were facing off with a very angry Grundel. Evidently they were trying to bind his limbs but were coming off the losers. Nixies were being tossed left and right as Grundel, magnificent in his rage, was kicking and punching and cursing in Spanish and all in all posing quite a problem for the guards. When he spotted Cornelius he roared and lunged at the Fairy's pursuers, most of whom wisely turned and ran the other way. The toad, chasing the majority of the Nixies, vanished around a corner.

But Cornelius still had a few determined guards after him. He sped on down the corridor and down a winding staircase, the three warriors running along after him. He realized that their thick wings must be more useful for swimming than flying, else they might have overtaken him. As it was Cornelius, damaged wing and all, moved a lot faster and soon left them behind. But he knew they would surely catch up.

As Cornelius paused momentarily to catch his breath, he found himself leaning against a window set with thick glass. A window didn't seem to belong in what felt like a dungeon but then he remembered he was underwater, not underground. Peering out through the window he made out the swimming form of Grundel, who had evidently found his way back into the Pool; only now, he was the one being pursued. Dozens of armed Nixies – whose speed underwater matched the toad's – dogged his every move. Cornelius, who had been glad that the big toad had diverted the majority of the warriors off of his own tail, now began to worry. There were certainly too many for the toad to handle all by himself. Cor made to go back up the stairs to help his companion when a sound from below made him pause. It was an unfamiliar voice, speaking a familiar name.

"Thumbelina?" it said. "Don't cry. We'll be out of here soon – I feel it in my ears."

A gasp tore itself from Cor's throat and he whirled to dart to the bottom of the stairs. "Thumbelina?" he cried, straining to see in the darkness. "Thumbelina, are you here?"

"Cor – Cornelius? _Cornelius!_"

Seconds later Cor was pressing his beloved's hands through the bars of her cell. "Oh, Thumbelina!" he exclaimed, his voice wavering. "I was afraid..." He glanced over his shoulder. "I'm being followed. I have to get you out of there. Stand back."

Thumbelina released the bars and pressed herself against the back wall of the cell.

Cornelius struck at the lock on the door with his sword and it fell away in two pieces amid a shower of sparks. Thumbelina hurried forward, pushing the door open. Cornelius seized her by the wrist and turned towards the stairs.

"I'll have to fight our way out," he said.

"Wait." Thumbelina pulled away. "Cecil."

Cor frowned at her over his shoulder. "Thumbelina, what – "

"We have to free Cecil!" replied Thumbelina, hurrying to another cell. Although it was a larger cell than the one Thumbelina had occupied, the bat inside was painfully cramped.

"It's nice to be remembered," said Cecil.

In another shower of sparks, the lock on the bat's cell was broken. But at that same moment, the three Nixie guards were upon them.

Cor darted into the fray immediately, but after only one swordthrust he was suddenly seized around the middle by a pair of large feet and carried through the air up the stairs.

"Sorry but this match has been cancelled due to survival," called Cecil, trying not to squeeze Cor too hard. On the bat's back, Thumbelina pointed ahead and shouted:

"Look _out!_"

They had reached the top of the stairs, where Vezuvaali and four guards were waiting. Cecil squeaked and flapped, knocking a couple of the Nixies down, and circled high around the chamber.

"There's the exit!" called Cor, pointing to the watery hole in the floor that he had been ferried through. "We'll have to swim for it."

"Oh dear," murmured Thumbelina.

Cecil released Cornelius and the Prince flew up to sit in front of Thumbelina. "Hold on to me," Cor said over his shoulder. The Princess nodded numbly. Below, the five Nixies were guarding the hole as if daring the bat to try and escape that way. There was certainly nowhere else to flee.

"I don't much fancy it," Cecil muttered, "but I'll give it a go." And he darted through the hole.

The five Nixies dove after them, not jabbing with their spears but rather grabbing at Cor and Thumbelina, trying to pull them off of Cecil. But Thumbelina held fast to Cornelius and Cornelius gripped the bat's vest for all he was worth and they broke free, Cecil swimming towards the surface like a miniature manta ray.

In moments Cecil was flopping onto the bank. Cornelius rolled off of him, coughing violently.

"Thumbelina," he sputtered, wiping water from his eyes. "Are you okay? Thumbelina?"

But Thumbelina wasn't there.


	7. Chapter Seven

_Chapter Seven_

She didn't know which way was up.

Thumbelina drifted along, turning end over end. She had slipped off of Cecil's back moments before the bat had broke the surface and now she was disoriented, not knowing which way to swim. She couldn't, as she had pointed out to her friends more than once, even float, and it was impossible to tell where the surface of the pool was. She tried to look for the sun but the light in the water seemed to come from everywhere, not from one direction. A bubble escaped her lips. She needed to breathe. A sort of numbness overtook her heart. It's funny, she thought. I'm not even afraid.

Then something encircled her waist and she was being propelled forward until she suddenly broke the surface, where she gasped and choked.

"_Thumbelina!_" The voice belonged to Cornelius, swooping down and seizing her hands to pull her out of the water as the something around her waist slipped away. But before Thumbelina could say anything, Cor's face changed abruptly to a white mask of pure horror. Everything happened very fast: a black shadow falling upon them, a great splash behind Thumbelina followed by something slamming down into the water just a centimeter from the Princess' back; and then a shower of water drenching both the Fairies as the something leapt back up and flapped away overhead. It was a huge white stork. And it was trying to swallow something.

Cornelius' voice came back to him at last. "_NO!_" he wailed, just as Buzzby, wings whirring, rushed up to him. Cor released Thumbelina, who hovered there, shaken, as the Prince leapt onto the bee's back. They sped off after the bird.

"Thumbelina!" shouted Cecil from the bank, startling the Fairy out of her shock. She flew to him quickly.

"What – What _happened?_" she cried.

Cecil was fairly dancing with excitement. "You fell off my back!" he gasped, trembling. "You would have _drowned_ for sure! But then the biggest toad in the _world_ popped up with you under his arm and then..._pow_, this great bird drops from the sky and swallows him up – "

"Oh _no_," Thumbelina gasped, running around to hop on Cecil's back. "We have to go after them!"

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Go Buzzby, go, _GO!_"

Cornelius' urgings, as usual, were not necessary. Buzzby knew that a life hung in the balance and his flight made a gold-and-black streak in the sky. Ahead of them the stork flapped lazily, not aware that it was being pursued. Therefore it only took moments for Buzz to reach the bird's head.

Cornelius jumped off of the bee and dropped to the side of the bird's long red bill. The stork was having difficulty swallowing the big toad. Cor reached right into the murderous beak and seized Grundel's right ankle, just starting to slip out of view.

"You fiendish _monster!_" Cornelius heard himself scream. "Let go of my _friend!_"

That got the stork's attention. Still flapping along, it burbled around its meal and whipped its head from side to side, trying to dislodge the clinging Fairy. Cornelius held fast. At least the stork had stopped trying to swallow.

The bird couldn't handle this distraction. It plunged to the ground – they were back in the swamp – and started trying to brush Cornelius off against the vegetation. Surely this would have crushed the Fairy if Buzzby hadn't chosen that moment to divebomb the bird's head and jab his stinger in the bald patch Cor had made the last time he had tangled with the stork.

This was just too much. With a scream of surprise and agony, the stork coughed up its intended meal, sending Grundel – and Cornelius, who was still clinging to the toad's ankle – splat into the bog. Making no end of offended noises, the stork spread its great white-and-black wings and flew away.

Cornelius groaned and sat up as Buzzby landed and butted him violently. He looked around. Beside him Grundel lay in a crumpled heap. He appeared lifeless.

Cecil and Thumbelina arrived to find Cornelius rolling the big toad over onto his back. Grundel was a decidedly untoadlike shade of pale green. Cor put his ear to the toad's chest.

"Cornelius! Oh...Cor..." Thumbelina landed beside her husband and put her hands to her mouth. "Oh, he isn't..?"

Cornelius sat up slowly. He appeared dazed. "I..." he mumbled, then seemed to see Thumbelina for the first time. "Thumbelina," he gasped, and, rising, embraced her. "Thank goodness...At last, we're together again..."

Thumbelina held him tightly. He was shaking. "Of course we are," she said reassuringly. Behind them, Cecil stepped up to the still form of Grundel and sniffed at him tentatively. "We'll never be apart again," the Princess went on numbly. She gave a great shuddering sigh. "He _saved_ me," she gasped at length, swiping at tears. "When I first heard he was with you I didn't know what to think..."

Cor stepped back, passing a hand over his face. He felt very tired. "I know," he said quietly. "He was a bit of a handful but...I guess he was my friend." After all, that's what he had called the toad minutes earlier, as he was on his way down the stork's throat.

"I'm so sorry," said Thumbelina miserably.

"Hey ducks," spoke up Cecil so suddenly that the two Fairies looked over at him in surprise. "This toad's still kicking."

They both rushed over. "What?" exclaimed Cornelius. He grabbed Grundel's wrist and probed for a pulse. "There's no heartbeat."

"Well he's in shock, isn't he?" said Cecil. "See, this here's a cold-blooded fellow, yeah? _They_ go in shock, everything all but shuts down. It's called a Death-Like State. Defense mechanism, keeps the fussier predators away – "

"Cecil, what do we _do?_" prompted Thumbelina.

"What?" Cecil blinked, losing his train of thought. "Oh. Put him in the sun. Before everything shuts down for real."

Indeed, overhanging willow trees blocked the sun from most of the cold swamp. A patch of strong sunlight sat on the edge of the marsh, several yards away.

Cecil slid his wings under Grundel's shoulders as Cor and Thumbelina each took one arm. They pulled. Grundel didn't budge.

"Someone needs to lay off the flies," remarked Cecil as they all paused to rest.

In a sudden whoosh of air, Jacquimo was among them.

"Eh, having some trouble, I see?" the swallow asked curiously, gazing at the scene before him.

"Jacquimo," gasped Thumbelina in surprise. "We need to move him," she explained hastily, forgoing all further greetings in light of the current situation. "But he's too heavy."

Jacquimo frowned and rubbed his beak thoughtfully. "Perhaps you could ask all those blue Fairies who are running this way to help," he suggested.

And indeed, the group found themselves suddenly confronted with about three dozen Nixies, led by Vezuvaali herself.

"Stay back!" cried Cor desperately, drawing his sword and leaping forward.

"I see that you rescued the toad," said Vezuvaali, ignoring the Prince's threat. "Was it you who drove away the White Bird?"

Cor grit his teeth. "It was. But my friend will die if we can't get him warm."

As could be expected, Nixies knew much about amphibians. "In shock?" mused Vezuvaali. "Then we will move him into the sun." And she nodded over her shoulder. The Nixies swarmed forward and started levering sticks underneath Grundel.

Cornelius, Thumbelina, Cecil, and Jacquimo stepped back and watched as the Nixies hefted the sticks to their shoulders and carried the toad, not to the nearby sunny patch, but back towards the Pool. The four friends could do nothing but follow. When they got there, Grundel was placed on a warm rock in a patch of strong sunlight. Jacquimo and Cecil stood watch over him.

Before Cornelius could thank the Nixies for their help, Vezuvaali turned to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "My people thank you," she said. "The White Bird has swallowed up more than one careless child. None of my warriors have been able to stop it. But perhaps now it will leave our Pool alone."

Cor nodded as she released his shoulder. "You are welcome," he said, "but I hope there wasn't too high a cost." He glanced towards Grundel, who had not yet stirred.

"Your companion will be well," said the Chief, and she stroked her jawline thoughtfully. "I wonder, however, if the Princess – " she looked steadily at Thumbelina – "still desires our help to save her people? For, as I said earlier, we do not hesitate to aid fellow warriors in times of need."

Thumbelina was puzzled. "But...But it was Cornelius who saved Grundel and drove off the stork." She dropped her gaze. "I am no warrior."

"The strength of the group cannot always be judged by the strength of the individual," shrugged Vezuvaali, and she turned and walked away.

The Fairies gazed after her in some confusion for a moment before turning to one another again. "I think we have an army," Cor grinned.

Jacquimo suddenly hopped up to the Fairies. "Come quickly," he chirped. "Our cold-blooded _ami_ has revived."

Cornelius brightened immediately, pressed Thumbelina's hand, and hurried to follow the bird. Thumbelina smiled and trailed after him at a small distance.

Cor knelt beside Grundel, who was groggily attempting to sit up, hindered by Cecil, who was trying to get him to lie down. "Get off," the toad grumped, pushing the bat away. "Eh, Fairy Prince," Grundel grunted as Cornelius gripped his shoulder. The toad touched his head. "Somebody sneak up on me, I think. Thumbelina, she no drown?"

"She's right here, my friend," Cor grinned as Thumbelina stepped up on the toad's other side.

"You saved my life," spoke up the Princess, smiling gently at Grundel. "And Cornelius...he saved yours."

"It was Buzzby, really," returned Cor modestly.

As if in reply, Buzzby strolled out of the grass, carrying Grundel's hat, which had apparently also been spat out by the stork, in his mandibles. He laid it on the ground beside his master and droned complacently.

Cecil patted the bee admiringly. "It was an awful big stork," he chimed in. "You're right lucky."

Grundel finally succeeded in sitting up, and he blinked at Cornelius and Thumbelina. Then he shook his great green head. "Ees _nada_," he disagreed. "Is two times now I should be dead. Is only three times is lucky." He grinned at Cor. "I'll have to try again." Cornelius laughed.

Thumbelina made a show of rolling her eyes. "Men," she said to Vezuvaali, who had just stepped up beside her to see how the toad was doing. "If they're not trying to kill each other, they're trying to kill themselves."

The Nixie Chief had to laugh at that.


	8. Chapter Eight

_Chapter Eight_

The Fairies and animals set up camp that night on the edge of the Pool, politely declining an invitation to spend the night in the underground fortress. None of the party was particularly keen on being below ground, especially not on such a clear starry evening. Granted, the stillness of the area surrounding the Pool was a bit disconcerting but they neatly offset the quiet by inviting Jacquimo to tell stories, a role the showy swallow filled grandly. He showboated before the fire, weaving tales of magic and romance as the others watched and listened with interest.

Several Nixies, unaccustomed to performance art, seated themselves around the camp as well to catch the night's entertainment. Vezuvaali herself joined the inner group with the intention of discussing the journey to the Kobolds' mountain, but that had been postponed for the time being as everyone enjoyed Jacquimo's stories.

At last the bird, at the completion of a fable, swept off his hat and bowed, indicating the end of his performance. He sat down amid spirited praise and applause.

"A most interesting method of storytelling," observed Vezuvaali as Jacquimo drank some water from a rolled-up leaf Cecil had fetched for him. "Nixies simply state the facts of a venture, without all the added…commentary. It takes far less time. But I admit this way is much more gripping. You are a very talented bird," she complimented Jacquimo, who bowed with a respectful "_Merci, madamoiselle_.

"Perhaps," added the swallow, "someone else would like to tell a story."

Cornelius held up a hand. "I have a better idea," he chimed in. "You're going to love this," he whispered to Thumbelina, then stood up. "How about a song?"

Cecil's ears perked up. "Fairysong!" he exclaimed, whipping out his journal. "I've always wanted to hear Fairies sing."

Cor smiled and shook his head. "Not meaning to disappoint you Cecil," he said, moving out of the firelight, "but I had something else in mind." He walked up to Grundel, who had been dozing beneath an overhanging rock. "Psst, Grundel," he hissed, giving the toad's shoulder a push. "Come croak for us."

Back at the campfire, Vezuvaali arced an eyebrow. "The…toad?" she queried flatly.

Grundel opened one eye and gazed balefully at the Prince. "Is this about women again?" he asked cynically.

Cornelius tugged on his arm, and the toad reluctantly got to his feet. "Sort of," the Fairy grinned impishly. He dragged Grundel into the firelight, and threw a glance in Thumbelina's direction. "Please," he addressed the toad, "will you sing the same piece from before, two nights ago? I'll owe you one."

Grundel rolled his eyes. "Again he save life, and he want owe me one," he asided to the curious audience. He turned back to Cornelius. "I sing different opera, yes?" The toad peered out over the assembled Nixies. "War opera, maybe. Valkyries."

Cornelius shook his head. "No, no, no," he countered. "The same one."

Grundel shrugged, unfazed. "As you like," he agreed.

Cornelius hurried back to his seat as the toad made a show of brushing out the wrinkles the eager Fairy Prince had made in his sleeve. "What's this about?" Thumbelina queried, mystified.

Cornelius took her hand. "You'll see. Jacquimo, do you speak Italian?"

"Ah, _oui_."

"Would you translate for us?"

Before Jacquimo could ask what exactly he was to translate, Grundel, at last content that his appearance was satisfactory, began to sing. After getting over his initial surprise, the swallow whispered the opera's translation, loud enough for those assembled to hear but not quite so loud as to disturb the toad:

_I would like to pour my happiness  
into her dear heart!  
I would like  
my happy throes of love to create  
as many harmonies in the heavens  
as there are planets,  
ah! to fly with her to heaven and soar aloft  
to where no mortal treads!_

Thumbelina closed her eyes and clasped her hands together in delight as she listened. Like Queen Tabitha she had instantly loved the Royal Opera the first time she attended a performance (it was indeed one of the main things she and the Queen enjoyed doing together), and she recognized a fine performer when she heard one. She really had no idea Grundel could sing like that (she'd never had opportunity to find out, really). Cornelius didn't close his eyes. He was watching his beloved's face, enjoying her enjoyment. When, about halfway through the piece, Thumbelina turned to the Prince and with a murmured "Oh, Cornelius" pressed herself into his arms, Cor at last allowed himself to believe that his Princess was no longer angry with him. It was a great relief.

Nixies do not amuse themselves with song; songs and music are primarily used to motivate workers and battalions during marching or training. None of the warriors present, Vezuvaali included, had ever heard anything like this, and they were frankly floored. When Grundel reached the end of the piece and swept off his hat to bow, the Nixies cheered louder than anyone else.

"_Bravissimo!_" crowed Jacquimo, applauding heartily.

Cecil gave a standing ovation. "Sensational!" he congratulated the toad, who, like the seasoned entertainer he was, remained in the firelight to accept his kudos. "I thought I'd really been around, but I never heard anything like that."

"It's peculiar," mused Vezuvaali, gazing thoughtfully at Grundel as he bowed before the Fey. "I always thought animals just…made noise."

Surprisingly, Grundel took no offense to this remark. "Is all kinds noise," he informed the Nixie Chief as he replaced his hat. "Any kind noise better than nothing at all."

"I think he's saying it's entirely too quiet around here," supplied Cecil helpfully.

"Perhaps," agreed Vezuvaali, stroking her jaw. The other Nixies looked at each other curiously, but their Chief said no more on the subject.

Cornelius jumped up and clapped Grundel on the back before the amphibian could escape back to his rock. "Nice croaking, Toad," the Prince beamed at his friend. "I mean it, I really think you'd make it big in the opera. You _will_ sing for the Fairy Court, won't you, after…" He trailed off, not wanting to say "after we rescue them", because it weighed heavily on his mind that they may not be able to after all. He coughed and went on: "And I'm sure there'd be a place for you in our Royal Opera…if you wanted to stay."

But Grundel lowered his eyes and did not reply at once. Cornelius frowned at him. "Please stay with us," he urged. "The Vale could be your home. You should have a home."

"What is this you say?" blurted out Jacquimo, alarmed. "Haven't you got a home, _ami?_"

Thumbelina frowned. "But," she said, "what about your family?" She frowned deeper in concern. "Did something happen to them?"

Grundel looked away, embarrassed, and Cornelius regretting bringing the subject up in front of the others. Behind him he was aware of the Nixies quietly excusing themselves and diving into the Pool for the night. "I shouldn't have said anything," the Prince said quickly.

"Are you in trouble, old chap?" asked Cecil anxiously.

"You can tell us," said Jacquimo. "We are your friends, _non?_"

Grundel flicked his eyes briefly in the swallow's direction, hesitated, and then grunted quietly. Thumbelina got up and took the toad's arm. "Come and tell us about it," she said persuasively. Grundel allowed himself to be tugged to a fallen branch near the fire

and sat heavily. The Fairies sat on another branch and everyone looked at the toad expectantly.

After a sigh, Grundel started. "I want say," he said slowly, looking at Cornelius, "I finish do show. Big show. Mama's show, all show. Ees _finito_. You say before join opera, I tell you no."

Cornelius looked at his feet, abashed. "Yes you did," he replied. "I am sorry to push you."

Grundel went on. "Small show, few people - " here the toad indicated the campsite with a nod of his head – "ees okay. Ees no many strangers, ees no money. Money ees…no good. I tired money."

Thumbelina nodded in understanding. Mama Toad wasn't the only person she had met who was concerned with making money; the Mole had surrounded himself with so much wealth it had almost frightened her.

"I decide, in Spring, that I want leave show," Grundel went on, speaking to everyone. "Mama no want stop show, so I leave family." He sighed again and fiddled with his left sleeve. "I want find place to live, not have do show for money." He fidgeted a little and looked contritely at Thumbelina. "I want find Thumbelina, but she marry Fairy Prince. Ees good," he said firmly, to Thumbelina's relief. "I go away alone."

Jacquimo was moved. "So sad," he said. "No one should be all alone."

"But where _were_ you going?" Cecil wanted to know.

Grundel shrugged. "I think find pond, live there. Sing when want to." The toad got a faraway look in his large eyes and he sighed yet again. "I think, be like Papa. Papa ferryman. He sing, too; sing for free. Animals come from many mile hear him sing, ride in ferry even when they have no place to go. We poor. We have nothing but mud, but Papa happy. Want be like that."

"That's beautiful, mate," sighed Cecil.

Jacquimo nodded. "Ah, _oui_, it is the simple life that is the happiest."

Thumbelina touched Grundel on the arm. "That sounds like a nice plan," she told him with a smile.

"It sure does," agreed Cornelius. Then after a pause he added, "except for one problem."

The toad lifted an eyebrow at him. "Eh?" he queried.

"You hate mud."

The toad and the Prince looked at each other for a moment; then they both laughed.

"Um, I think we missed something," Cecil whispered to Thumbelina and Jacquimo.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Don't thrust too hard or you will be thrown off balance. Use your own weight to your advantage."

"But I don't weigh very much!" Thumbelina adjusted her grip on the spear. "What if the enemy is bigger than I?"

Vezuvaali smirked. "Even better. Use _their_ own weight to your advantage, then."

Thumbelina practiced thrusting a couple of more times, then rested the butt of the spear on the ground. "Hm," she said thoughtfully, the corner of her mouth turning up. "Mother Tabitha would have a fit if she saw me training with a weapon."

"She would do better to encourage you," countered the Nixie. "It is foolishness to forbid combat training. If your people had all been carrying weapons they were proficient with, they would not have been spirited off by Kobolds in the first place. And yet," she added as Thumbelina sighed, "it does no good to dwell on past events. They cannot be changed. Now block me." And she drove her own spear at Thumbelina, who stumbled backwards and awkwardly managed to parry.

At the break of dawn the animals and Fey had flown/hiked/hopped to the nearest rivulet where construction of a medium-sized boat was begun. It was intended to hold the animals and the Fairies; the Nixie warriors would swim, of course, while harnessed fish would pull the craft along. This rivulet, Vezuvaali had assured the travelers, was the fastest way to reach the river, which would take them past the Kobolds' mountain.

In the meantime the Nixie Chief had offered to teach Thumbelina how to defend herself. Although the offer was given in what Thumbelina construed as a condescending way, she had accepted at once. Any chance to train with a weapon was welcome. Cornelius had not argued, instead joining Grundel, Jacquimo, and Cecil in assisting with the boat's construction. Thumbelina didn't exactly see it as a note of approval, but they would have to discuss it later.

While Grundel dove into the water to help the Nixies with the heavy work, and Jacquimo flew off to gather reeds, Cornelius and Cecil remained on the bank to tie reeds together as the Nixies needed them.

"Your Highness," Cecil asked Cornelius after a while, glancing over at Thumbelina and Vezuvaali sparring beside the water, "may I ask a question?"

"Of course, my friend," the Prince smiled thinly at the bat.

"Er, well...I'm no expert, you know, well..." Cecil paused and scratched one ear slowly. "Y'see, I've always heard that Fairy women weren't fighters, and I...well, Princess Thumbelina..."

Cornelius sighed and straightened up from the reeds he was working on. "No," he said, "Fairy women aren't trained to fight."

"But..." Cecil was confused. "The Princess - "

"Was not always a Fairy," Jacquimo interrupted, swooping down after dropping another reed he had collected.

Now the bat was even more confused. "Er - wasn't she?"

Jacquimo put a wing over his heart dramatically. "Ah," he sighed, "non. It is a tale you should hear, _mon ami_. A tale of romance...of despair...of..."

"Toads," interrupted Cornelius.

"Ah, yes...of toads as well!" Jacquimo nodded.

Cecil had to laugh. "Sounds like a story for the ages, that one," he remarked. "I must hear it, then."

"And so you shall," Jacquimo told him. "But perhaps this is not the right time. For now, we work." And he flapped away again.

"Cornelius?"

The prince and the bat looked round as Thumbelina, minus her spear, walked up to them. Earlier, she had swapped her tattered lavender gown for new garments; they had been made for her by Nixies who had attempted to emulate the Fairies' modest attire, and what they had ended up with was a strange blend of Fairy and Nixie that was somehow both unassuming and exotic at the same time. The Princess had twined her long hair into triple braids and then pinned those around her head, leaving three loops hanging free in the back. Cornelius liked the look but wasn't sure his mother would approve. But then, Tabitha wouldn't approve of her daughter-in-law swinging a Nixie spear, either.

"I...do you have a moment?" Thumbelina asked her husband.

"I'll take over here, you go on," Cecil whispered to the Prince, taking the reeds they were working on and preparing to tie them alone.

"Thank you," Cornelius whispered back. He took a few steps in Thumbelina's direction. "Of course," he said to her.

Thumbelina hesitated. "Cornelius," she said after a moment, wringing her hands a little, "I...I wanted to apologize."

Cornelius frowned. "Apologize?" he prompted.

"Yes..." Thumbelina sighed. "I should have accepted your mother's diamond. I don't even know why I got so angry with you. I suppose...I suppose I felt like you were trying to turn me into someone I am not."

Cornelius walked up to her and touched her hand. "Thumbelina," he said earnestly, "Why would I want to turn you into someone else? You are the one I fell in love with, aren't you? I want _you_ - you, the way you are. I went to an awful lot of trouble to find you, you know," he added, raising an eyebrow mischievously at her, and she smiled. "Here," he said suddenly, pulling the necklace out of his pocket and putting it into her hand.

Thumbelina held it up, and she sighed despite herself as she examined it from every angle. Huge. She smiled when Cecil, who couldn't help but notice the gem, whistled suddenly, gaping a little.

"_Cor_," the bat gasped, opening his normally half-lidded eyes quite wide. "_What_ a rock, mate!"

Cornelius grinned over his shoulder at Cecil. "Family heirloom," he explained.

"I was going to say! I didn't think you just nipped out to the market for it this morning. But," he paused thoughtfully, "I'm afraid it doesn't quite go with your current outfit, love," he nodded at Thumbelina.

The Princess grinned. "He's right," she informed Cornelius.

Cornelius threw his arms wide. "What are you talking about?" he parried. "I thought you were combat training. It'd make a swell bola."

Thumbelina laughed, and couldn't resist swinging the necklace a little. The diamond threw a shaft of sunlight directly into Cecil's eyes, and the bat, startled, stumbled backwards a little and fell into the Pool

But before the Fairies could hurry forward and help him, Grundel, who as usual was looking rather impatient, pushed the bat back out of the water.

"What this?" grumped the toad, looking down at the soggy bat and up at the surprised Fairies. "I thought you help build boat! Not go for swim!" He threw Cecil an accusing look.

"It's my fault, Grundel," Thumbelina spoke up, smiling in contrition and hiding the necklace behind her back.

"Yes, she was showing us her combat moves," added Cornelius, helping Cecil get to his feet. He threw Thumbelina a grin and she bit her lip so she wouldn't giggle.

"Oh yes," the bat chimed in. "She was showing us a...secret weapon."

This was all over Grundel's head. He looked round suspiciously at the three, who all looked like they were trying not to laugh. Then he rolled his eyes. "Well learn like swimming _now_, you swim whole way if this boat no get built. _Ay_. Where that bird go?" He turned and hopped back into the water; a trail of bubbles indicated that the toad had swum off.

"Nice fellow but he needs to work on his manners, yeah?" Cecil remarked after they had all enjoyed a short laugh. "Well, you heard him; I'm not too keen on swimming all the way to this Mountain. Never mind that we can all _fly_."

Before Cornelius and Thumbelina parted the Princess handed the necklace back to Cor. "I'm afraid I don't have any pockets," she explained. "You'll have to carry the secret weapon for now."

"I'll guard it with my life," the Prince promised her. They kissed briefly, and then Cornelius went back to tying reeds while Thumbelina returned to Vezuvaali for her next lesson.


	9. Chapter Nine

_Chapter Nine_

I could recount here various minor adventures undertaken by our heroes as they sailed towards the Mountain of the Kobolds. I could talk your ear off about dangerous rapids and waves, about pirating river animals and about dissention among the ranks and even about a lover's spat; but for the sake of brevity let us skip ahead roughly two weeks to the morning the Mountain came into view at last.

"Looks like a dangerous place," was Cecil's comment as they drew up alongside a moored ship. Perhaps the right size for a crew of small animals, like water rats, it lay partially on its side in a state of total disarray. It had obviously been abandoned long ago. Late afternoon now, the ship lay in the shadow of the craggy, grey mountain, like some sort of victim.

"What danger?" Grundel, treading water, scowled at the ship. "River pirates."

No one knew if he meant that the ship had been attacked by river pirates or had belonged to them, but the ship was quickly forgotten as Jacquimo, who had flown on ahead to scout, swooped down low over the water.

"I have found the entrance!" he announced, flapping in place as best he could. "It does not appear to be guarded."

"I'll believe _that_ when I see it," remarked Cornelius wryly.

"I hope you were not too obvious," spoke up Vezuvaali, treading water beside the toad. "Visible guards or not, I am certain anyone approaching the entrance would be seen, and noted."

"Chief," said a male Nixie, "perhaps it is time to abandon the boat."

"Yes," agreed Vezuvaali. "Anchor it behind the ship there, so it will not be noticed."

Cecil ferried Thumbelina to the bank, and Cornelius rode Buzzby. Vezuvaali grouped her warriors on land, after the boat had been stashed. Grundel pulled himself out of the water unhurriedly and wrung out his hat.

"We will walk the rest of the way," announced Vezuvaali as Jacquimo flitted to land beside Cecil.

"What, even us?" Cecil protested, glancing at the swallow.

"Any creature approaching the lair of Dark Fey could be tagged as suspicious," Cornelius spoke up before the Nixie Chief could. "I agree with Vezuvaali. We'll walk. It's the best we can do."

And so they walked. The army of Nixies slunk more than walked, somehow managing to make their spears and blue bodies blend into the grey rock. The Fairies and animals felt a bit like sore thumbs in contrast but it couldn't much be helped.

"There it is," whispered Thumbelina as a cave-like opening came into view.

"_Oui_, that is the only opening near the ground," confirmed Jacquimo. Vezuvaali had asked him to find a ground-level entrance, as the Nixies could not fly.

"Do we ah, just waltz in, like?" hissed the bat.

No one had a chance to reply. All at once dozens upon dozens of small, blurred shapes hurtled from everywhere to fling themselves bodily upon the warriors, shrieking shrilly. They seemed to have no form, and they darted in and out of the fray with lightning speed as the Nixies hacked and slashed and jabbed with their spears valiantly.

"Filthy Pesties!" swore Cornelius, unsheathing his sword and swinging at a shape as it zoomed past. He brought his arm back and elbowed an oncoming shape head-on and it tumbled, its form stabilizing and finally becoming completely visible as the creature tumbled to the ground clutching its nose. It was a small, winged humanoid, roughly thigh-high to a Fairy, with barely defined facial features; furry, it wore no clothes. The Pestie rolled to its feet, shook itself a bit, and with an angry hiss at the Prince, darted away before it could be seized.

"Nasty things," Cornelius remarked to Grundel and Jacquimo. "They can...blur themselves and change colors to blend into their surroundings. And as you can see they are fast. But they are dreadful cowards."

"The Nixies, they are winning!" commented Jacquimo, pointing. Indeed, the ground was already littered with a large number of motionless Pesties. But Cornelius shook his head. "Not necessarily," replied the Prince. "We Fairies have an old saying: 'For every Pestie that you see, there's a hundred that you don't.' Vezuvaali!" he shouted, trying to find the Nixie Chief in the mass of fighting blue bodies. "We must retreat!"

Vezuvaali extricated herself from the army quickly at the summons. "My warriors never retreat! They - " she began.

But Cornelius wouldn't wait for her to finish. "Pesties overwhelm by sheer force of numbers," he told her sharply. He pointed at the cave entrance. "We should make a run for it now! Vezuvaali, you must listen to me!" he went on as the Chief narrowed her eyes at him. "We may not have another chance!"

The Nixie army was beginning to disappear behind a cloud of blurry forms; the Pesties' ranks were increasing at an alarming rate. Vezuvaali was not so obstinate that she would risk her people's lives for her pride. "Warriors, follow your Chief!" she shouted, spear raised; and she turned and fled towards the cave. Cornelius and Thumbelina ran after her, and the army, with a collective shout, did the same. Buzzby flew overhead.

"_Palo loco!_" shouted Grundel, looking over his shoulder as he and Jacquimo started to flee. "What is he doing?"

The toad was referring to Cecil, who had pulled out his journal and quill and was now scribbling notes furiously. When they darted back to seize him by the wings and drag him towards the cave, the bat cried out in protest and waved his quill around. "No!" he yelled. "I need a sketch! Do you know how few people have ever seen a Pestie at rest?" The toad and swallow ignored him.

"We'll never make it!" Thumbelina cried, jabbing her spear left and right at the swarming Pesties. Indeed the cave entrance was still yards distant. "We need more help!"

Cornelius suddenly had a brainstorm. "Help," he muttered to himself, and looked round wildly to locate Grundel. "Grundel!" he shouted, trying to stave off several Pesties at once. "Can you sing for help?"

The toad didn't need to be asked twice. Releasing Cecil's wing he charged back towards the river, knocking Pesties every which way as he went. Moments later his sonorous croak could be heard, repeating over and over for a minute or so.

"Hey!" Cecil blurted as a Pestie seized his journal and snatched it away from him. "Anything but that! You rotten little blighter, give it back!" The bat charged into the fray, swatting the evil little Fey that had swiped his book mercilessly with one wing. "I'm only trying to make you famous you know!"

Thumbelina grunted as she thwacked a Pestie that had been clinging to her leg with the butt of her spear and sent it tumbling a good foot. Her clothes were in tatters. She pressed her back to Cornelius' and they fought that way for a while. "When will this _end?_" the Princess moaned.

"Perhaps now," replied Jacquimo, ducking as a toad leapt over his head and knocked several Pesties out of the air.

"Toads!" exclaimed Vezuvaali in surprise as toads of all ages and sizes, responding to Grundel's call, threw themselves upon the Pesties. "And they fight for us! But - how? And why?"

Cornelius shook his head at the Chief. "You really could stand to learn a thing about the animals you forbid from your Pool," he told her, trying not to sound too cross.

Cecil stumbled back to them then, looking a bit shabby but triumphantly clutching his journal. "Them toads sure can put up a fight," he said wonderingly, watching the amphibians swatting Pesties left and right while the Nixie warriors drove off several more. "All clear, now, yeah?"

"Yes," said Cornelius. He turned as Grundel hopped up. "A fine job," he commended the toad. "Thank them all for us quickly; we must get inside the cave before those cowards regroup."

But Grundel shook his head. "Fairy Prince go in cave, find other Fairies," he said. "I stay here, help toads keep pests from following."

"Won't you come with us?" asked Thumbelina, disappointed.

Grundel gazed at her a moment. "Is better I stay, guard cave," he told her. "Besides," he added as an afterthought, "is about time I see some _entusiasmo!_" He gleefully punched a Pestie in the nose and sent it careening crazily into a clump of grass. "You go," he told the others, then hopped off.

"I stay as well," spoke up Jacquimo jumping up and hovering in the air. "Someone must keep an eye on our impetuous friend. Good luck, _mon amis!_" he bade them, swooping after Grundel.

The Fairies, Nixies, and bat headed into the cave, plunging into the semidarkness.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Do not turn your head. We are being followed."

Cornelius tried to do as Vezuvaali ordered, but it was very difficult to curb the impulse to look behind him. "For how long?" he hissed to her.

"Not even a minute," the Chief replied quietly. "They are Kobolds," she added before Cor could ask.

Cornelius swallowed and tried not to break his stride as the company ventured deeper into the Mountain. "They've cut off our escape, then," he muttered.

"Cornelius..?" whispered Thumbelina, who had overheard.

"We must keep on," replied the Prince edgily. "We've come this far, we must at least find our people."

"It is a trap," said Vezuvaali. "They are herding us towards more evil Fey." She looked sternly at the Fairies. "We must part now."

Now Cornelius couldn't help turning his head, to look at the Nixie Chief. "What?" he said.

"You two make a run for it. My warriors and I will stay behind to keep the Kobolds from pursuing you." She inclined her head slightly. "Until our currents cross again."

The warriors seemed to know instinctively what order Vezuvaali was about to give; as one they turned at her cry and rushed back down the path, spears readied. Cornelius didn't wait to see the Kobolds spring from the shadows; he seized Thumbelina and a moment later Cecil, with the Fairies on his back, was flying swiftly down the tunnel.

It was just as well that the bat was put in charge of navigation, as the light from the mouth of the cave had run out at last, and all was pitch blackness. Knowing that Cecil couldn't speak while using echolocation, the Fairies didn't ask him if he knew where he as going, and just clung tightly to his vest and to each other as the sounds of battle died behind them.

Cecil swooped and dove and twisted and turned in his flight, making both Fairies rather nauseous (and reminding Cornelius of a certain toadback ride). This went on for several minutes, until finally Cecil's path straightened out.

"We're in a cavern," the bat called, taking a brief pause from navigating. "There's only one other path: up."

"Then take it," Thumbelina told him; and then Cecil was flapping upwards in a sharp ascent.

Cornelius was troubled. It made sense to him that the kidnapped Fey would be held captive in some sort of underground chamber, not higher up in the mountain. But before he could voice his concern an overpowering blast of wind roared through the cavern, taking the bat by surprise. With a squeak he tumbled backwards, the Fairies fighting to remain on board.

The wind intensified, filling Cecil's fragile wings and literally hurling the bat downwards. Fearful of being squashed under the bat should he strike a flat surface Thumbelina and Cornelius were forced to take to the air, the sparkles from their wings illuminating next to nothing in the dark chamber.

The wind ceased as suddenly as it began and the Fairies, finding each other, hovered in place.

"Cecil!" called Thumbelina in fright. "Cecil, where are you?"

"_Cecil!_" shouted Cornelius.

There was no reply.

"Oh Cornelius, what will we do?" worried Thumbelina. "Where are we? How will we find our way out?"

Cornelius, clinging to her, didn't reply right away. He looked around, straining his eyes - and then he noticed it.

"Thumbelina, there!" he pointed, turning the Princess towards the barest hint of light above them, several feet away. "Do you see it?" he asked her, worried that his eyes might be playing tricks on him.

"I do," she said, and they flew to an opening in the ceiling of the chamber, leading to a huge, dimly lit cavern. They fluttered up into it hesitantly and gazed around. Both Fairies saw the same thing at the same time; they dropped to the floor, still grasping each other's hands, and went rigid.

There were seven Fairy-like beings sitting cross-legged in the center of the chamber; they were slender and beautiful and very pale, with delicate features and near white, flowing hair. Their wings, quadruple like dragonfly wings, shimmered with iridescence, and they wore delicately colored robes of the finest silk. But it wasn't their loveliness that the Fairies noticed: it was the pure, spine-chilling, undeniable evil that literally poured from them, washing over Cornelius and Thumbelina like deadly fumes. The Fairies stood petrified.

A shaft of light emanating from a crack in the ceiling above was pooled in the center of the circle, and the strange people were dipping into it with their hands and drinking from them, appearing to be drinking the light itself. The whole scene was downright frightening.

One of the people looked up and rose to her feet without bending her limbs or fluttering her wings; she moved creepily, like she was suspended from strings. Her companions went on drinking, greedily, while she drifted towards the Fairies, her head cocked. She drifted quickly then came to an abrupt stop, stared intensely and, without moving her mouth, lips, or tongue at all, spoke:

"_Circle circle never ending; circle always inward wending; head for home but always fail; trapped inside my twisted tail_."

Her voice was clear and distinct, and both Fairies (who were deeply frightened) imagined that perhaps she was using telepathy and the words had been projected directly into their minds. But in any case what she said made no sense; it was clearly a riddle, though the fact that she didn't possess a tail just intensified the strangeness of the situation. Behind her, the others went on gulping their handfuls of light.

Thumbelina clutched at Cornelius' arm with both hands in open-mouthed horror, slowly edging away. Cornelius came to himself and drew his sword.

"Are you the Master of this mountain?" he wavered, trying to keep his voice steady and his eyes locked to the woman's.

But the woman stood mutely, hovering just slightly above the floor. Her head was still cocked.

"Who _are_ you?" whispered Thumbelina hoarsely.

"_We are the Unseelie_," the woman's voice murmured in their heads; and it was echoed by six other voices whispering "_Unseelie_," out of synch.

The Unseelie. Fairylore was vague, perhaps deliberately so, regarding these most Dark of Fae. They were not a race but more of a clan, consisting of whatever Fae was evil-hearted enough to join their number. They were not ordinary Dark Fey, who lived lives of treachery, filled with hate for others. The Unseelie _were_ Hate, and Lies, and Death.

But Fairylore spoke of the Unseelie Court, where hundreds of these evil beings gathered. Who was this lonely group of seven? And where were the kidnapped Fey? Cornelius' gaze drifted to the pool of light, and up to the crack in the ceiling...

The Prince pushed Thumbelina away from him, pointing his sword at the Unseelie woman. "Where are the rest of your black-hearted clan?" he shouted, gritting his teeth. "And what do you plan for our people? And the other Light Fey? Speak, woman!" he demanded when there was no reply from the woman and the others kept drinking.

"_Circle, circle, we will come full circle. And you will never leave this place_," came the reply; and she rose into the air a few inches, her wings fanning. The others, who had stopped drinking all at the same time, darted over to hover in a circle around the Fairies, all dangling as if supported by invisible strings. "_Your magic will fill us and bring us back_," said a voice apparently belonging to one of the male Unseelie, though it was impossible to know which one had actually spoken.

"Back?" whispered Thumbelina, staring. "Back from where?"

"_Back_," replied the woman who had spoken to them first. "_Back from the Circle Never Ending. Back from where they sent us_." The seven Unseelie drifted forward an inch, causing Thumbelina and Cornelius to shrink together. Cornelius' sword trembled.

"Who are 'they'?" he demanded, the strain of his fear making him angry. "What is this Circle you speak of?"

"'Circle always inward wending...trapped inside my twisted...'" Thumbelina frowned. "A riddle?"

"_Some say a Fairy is a riddle, and riddles are Fairies_," replied the woman, her eyes fixed on Thumbelina.

"What's the answer?" Cornelius asked.

"I think," said Thumbelina, who enjoyed riddles, "that it's a...spiral?"

At that Cornelius' eyes widened. "I know who you are!" he said abruptly, tightening his grip on his word. "You are the Unseelie who were cast into the Spiral!" He glanced at Thumbelina, who he knew had been spared that particular nightmarish tale. "The seven Unseelie who betrayed the Unseelie Court and were spirited into the...yes, the 'Circle Never Ending'! My kind know of you," he told the woman guardedly. "But what do you mean our magic will 'bring you back'?" He paused for a moment, and then with a suddenness that startled even himself, he lunged forward and thrust his sword through the woman's heart.

Thumbelina gasped and jumped, but the seven Unseelie did not budge. Cornelius' sword had encountered nothing solid. The woman and her companions, though visible, were simply not there physically.

"You're still _in_ the Spiral," stated Cornelius accusingly. "I don't know how, but you're only projecting yourselves here. That light." He indicated the shaft of light the Unseelie had been drinking from. "What is that light?" The Unseelie stared at him, still as statues, and his courage grew. "Magic? The magic of the Light Fey? They're up there, then?" He started fluttering upwards, and Thumbelina clutched at him in fright, staring at the Unseelie.

"Cornelius, don't!" she hissed, petrified.

"They're not really here," the Prince replied hotly, tugging free and continuing his ascent. "They've only been commanding the Kobolds and Pesties to obey them, they can't really harm us."

But there Cornelius was wrong. All together the Unseelie raised their arms and Cornelius was struck by a purple, crackling thread of magic that knocked him out of the air and sent him screaming to the floor. Sobbing, Thumbelina threw herself upon him as the Unseelie turned wordlessly and, kneeling again at the pool of light, began drinking it with their hands.

"Oh Cornelius, Cornelius," moaned Thumbelina, clutching her husband's tunic. He was alive, and trembling, but did not respond. Even trapped in another place the Unseelie were dangerous and powerful enough to hurt, probably even kill them – but how can one fight against someone who wasn't really there? The Prince and Princess had no magic. Thumbelina felt the huge diamond through Cornelius' tunic, and pulled it out to gaze at it mournfully. "I'm sorry," the Princess said to no one in particular.

Then she looked up fearfully to watch the Unseelie, who were wholly ignoring her now, engrossed in their intent drinking. If they needed to absorb the magic, why not just stand in the shaft of light, or fly up into the chamber above? Why only consume it one small handful at a time? She had a sudden flashback of standing beside the Pool of the Nixies and telling Cecil she couldn't swim. And Cecil had said something...something about taking one breath at a time, what was it? "_Any element can be dangerous, even deadly, if you get too much of it at once_."

When Thumbelina walked right up to them the Unseelie finally deigned to notice her. They stopped drinking and looked up at her standing beneath the tilted shaft of light, a large diamond on a chain in her hand. "You drink our magic like it is water," she said, a bit unsteadily, as the Unseelie all stared piercingly at her. "But even though we need it in small quantities to live water can kill us when there's too much, and when you can't swim." She swallowed and gripped the diamond tighter. "Can you swim?" she asked them, and, reaching upwards, held the huge faceted diamond in the beam of magic streaming from the ceiling, and squeezed her eyes tightly shut as reflected light drenched the chamber.

At once she wished she could close her mind as well. The Unseelie were screaming, screaming not aloud but as they spoke, with voices directly inside her head; screaming in waves as each of them lost their grip on this world and faded away to return wholly to the Spiral in which they had been cast. When the horrible screaming stopped Thumbelina collapsed into a fetal position and sobbed. She could feel that the evil Fey had gone and she was relieved, but she was still horrified by the whole ordeal and wished with all her heart that she and Cornelius were somewhere else.


	10. Chapter Ten and Epilogue

_Chapter Ten_

"Thumbelina? Thumbelina, wake up. Please. Please wake up."

When Thumbelina opened her eyes, she found herself lying on a wooden floor under a blue sky, with her husband bending over her worriedly. He broke into a relieved grin and drew her into his arms.

"Cornelius!" she gasped into his shoulder. "What happened?"

The Prince shook his head. "I still don't know," he admitted. "I just woke up, myself." He flushed, embarrassed. "The biggest defeat in generations of my people and I slept through it." He looked at Thumbelina. "But don't _you_ know what happened? The Unseelie – they're gone! Was it you? Did you defeat them?"

Thumbelina didn't answer right away; instead she looked around. They seemed to be on the deck of a ship sized for small animals; she could feel that they were moving but somehow it didn't feel like they were floating on water. She was bursting with curiosity to know where she was, but she didn't have to wait long.

"Thumbelina!" exclaimed Cecil, appearing suddenly beside Cornelius. "How about this ship Grundel got for us, eh? Isn't she a beat? Not exactly seaworthy but airworthy enough, right?"

"Airworthy?" repeated Thumbelina in surprise. She climbed to her feet and ran to the rail. The ship – it was the same one they had spotted upon their arrival at the mountain, she realized – was _flying_. Far below them was a lot of green that she knew must be the tops of trees. But then she remembered something far more important. "Cecil!" she cried, flinging herself upon the bat. "Oh Cecil, thank you."

"He fetched us both out of that mountain," Cornelius spoke up, not knowing to what Thumbelina was really referring. "He flew back and found us and carried us both out of there."

"Found your rock, too," added the bat, pulling the Queen's diamond necklace out of his vest and handing it to Thumbelina.

"How is this ship flying?" she asked the bat as she took the diamond.

"Look again," replied Cecil with a chuckle, pointing over the side. This time Thumbelina leaned way out and discovered the means of their locomotion: hundreds of Pesties, all supporting the ship from below as they flew through the air. Buzzby flew alongside, like a prison warden keeping his charges in line.

"But why are they carrying us?" Thumbelina asked in wonder.

"Because," replied Jacquimo, strolling up to the group, "our green _ami_ is very persuasive." He pointed to the prow. There, standing stoically at the helm, one hand on the wheel and the other gripped tightly around the neck of an abnormally large, petulant-looking Pestie, was Grundel. "He found their leader, you see," added Jacquimo. Thumbelina laughed and clasped her hands together.

"But Thumbelina," urged Cornelius, "do you know what happened to the Unseelie? _Are_ they gone? Did you defeat them?"

"Oh yes, Cornelius," Thumbelina smiled back at him. "Yes, I think so."

"But how?" The swallow and bat echoed him with "Yes how?"s of their own.

Thumbelina paused, then held out the diamond. "Our secret weapon," she said, grinning. "It was too flashy even for the Unseelie."

After Thumbelina explained in more detail what she had done, Cornelius took the diamond from her, folded the chain, and tucked it away in his tunic. "Well I think under the circumstances Mother won't mind having it back." He grinned. "In fact, Father may want to put it on show in the Palace. Where are the Nixies?" he asked suddenly, noticing the absence of their blue-skinned companions.

"Alas, they did not wish to fly with us," replied the swallow.

"They swam home," interjected the bat. "They did drive off all of the Kobolds though."

"That's too bad," said Cornelius, a little deflated. "I wanted them to meet – Jacquimo!" he cried, stricken. "Where are the Fairies?"

To his and Thumbelina's surprise, Jacquimo and Cecil both laughed. "No worries, mate," Cecil said. "They're all safe and sound. Them and all the other Light Fey those Unseelie had holed up in that Mountain. Leprechauns and Brownies…so many notes to take. I ran out of room in my journal," went on the bat sadly, spreading his wings - which the Fairies could now see were covered with notes, sketches, and diagrams.

"But where – "

"Your parents are below," Jacquimo interrupted Cornelius. "They have been waiting for you. We thought you would revive better in the open air."

Cornelius heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Jacquimo," he said. He started for the cabin doors, but then changed his mind and headed for the prow instead. Smiling, Thumbelina followed him.

Grundel's wide stony face broke into a grin when he saw the Fairies approaching. "Eh, Fairy Prince, you wake from nap? Ees fighting bad not-Fairies too much, you have lie around all day like mold on log?"

Cornelius laughed and punched the toad in the arm. "I just woke up to make sure you weren't eating anybody," he replied, and then pulled a sneer at the Pestie, who was watching him warily. "Although I could always make an exception." The Pestie grumbled, but couldn't help casting an apprehensive look at the big toad.

Thumbelina stepped forward and to the toad's surprise fluttered up to throw her arms around his neck and kiss him on the cheek. "Thank you for all your help, Grundel," she told him. "You are extremely brave, you know." The toad, unable to reply, merely grunted in response, though he darkened visibly and had to look away. Grinning, the Fairies took each other's hands and went to see the King and Queen.

_Epilogue_

"Colbert, don't fuss so. I'm quite all right."

"Well I apologize. It just isn't…proper, you know."

Tabitha tutted and arranged a silk cushion as best she could on the bench of the small boat. "Colbert, my love," she said, "finery isn't only found in fine places. You should know that." She turned then and smiled at the ferryman. "Wouldn't you agree, dear?"

Grundel took her hand and gave it a gentlemanly kiss, and she blushed becomingly. "_Si_, ees true," he replied. "It must be, if you are here." Tabitha tittered and Colbert shook his head. Grinning, Grundel released the Queen's hand, dipped his punt back into the water, and burst into song.

On the bank of the pond, Cornelius and Thumbelina stood together, watching the moon reflect on the water, while Buzzby groomed himself a few inches away. The pond lay within the boundaries of the Fairy Kingdom, and the Prince and Princess had been delighted when Grundel decided to set up house there. Since he wasn't keen on performing in the Palace, Tabitha agreed to travel to the pond for his performances – once the Queen had heard him she'd needed no further persuasion.

Thumbelina had encountered Berkeley Beetle a few days after their return to the Vale, as he was founding a new nightclub nearby. Receiving his fine new wings had made him quite friendly towards her, and he had agreed to take a message to Grundel's family to let them know where the toad now lived, in case they wanted to see him. They hadn't made an appearance as of yet, but then, as Berkeley reported, they were scheduled to appear in London next month.

Speaking of London, Cecil had decided to head back there to work on getting his recent findings on mythological beings published. He'd promised to come back as soon as he could.

Jacquimo, as always, could be counted on to drop by frequently with news of Thumbelina's mother, of the Jitterbugs, and of happenings in Paris.

As Cornelius had predicted, King Colbert took the diamond and put it on display in the Palace. It had, after all, helped defeat seven powerful Unseelie, although Thumbelina herself was credited with the triumph. Thumbelina was proud of the surge of interest the young Fairy girls had in hearing her tell of her adventure over and over again, and she hoped that one day, Fairy women might train for combat alongside the men.

Of course, she also hoped it would never actually be needed.

_Story completed March 2007. Thumbelina belongs to Don Bluth Studios. The Spiral Riddle is ©Cloud Kingdom Games and can be found in their book "Lair of the Sphinx". "À la claire fontaine" ("At the clear fountain") is a French children's song. The opera Grundel sings is from the Italian opera "I Lombardi" (or "I Lombardi alla prima crociata," "The Lombards On the First Crusade") by Verdi. "I Lombardi" was first performed in 1843 so I know it's not early enough for _Thumbelina, _which supposedly takes place in the 17th century. I don't know when "À la claire fontaine" was written, so it may also not be early enough. If I can deal with this so can you. ;)_


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